


Burnished Through Blue Fire

by Bellagunn



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood Magic, Consensual Kink, Crossover, Demon Sex, Family Dynamics, Group Sex, Incest, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Master of Death Harry Potter, Moral Ambiguity, Multi, Polyamorous Pack, Pseudo-Incest, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Rule 63, Spoilers, Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-07-06 01:48:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 34
Words: 198,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15875973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellagunn/pseuds/Bellagunn
Summary: Since Tou-san died things have been harder than normal for Yukio Okumura.Yukio swore that he would protect his Nii-san, no matter the cost; but Rin's noble heart puts him in constant danger and Yukio is having trouble keeping up.To fulfill his duty Yukio realizes he has to be at least as strong as his Nii-san; but how can a simple human physically catch up to a manifested son of Satan?The answer, in the form of a stranger, is surprising; perhaps Yukio isn't as human as he originally thought.





	1. Magic and Mayhem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blood rituals often have unintended consequences.

 

Magic Circles and Seals Studies sounded lame but was turning out to be a pretty interesting class overall; for once Okumura Rin wasn't asleep and drooling on his desk. 

 

Rin watched in rapt fascination as Neuhaus Sensei, useing a comically oversized compass, began to outline a perfect circle around the already intricate chalk drawing he made on the floor. Rin was impressed that anyone could draw something that elaborate so quickly and for a dude with only one eye, Neuhaus Sensei didn't seem to have any issues with his depth perception.

 

As Rin stared, the glyphs and sigils around the edges of the design began squirming slightly. Rin blinked in surprise and glanced subtly at the other paiges to see if they had noticed the suddenly lively art.

 

Everyone else seemed calmly fixated on Neuhaus Sensei so Rin tried to ignore the way the white lines twisted and shook even as he wondered why no one else noticed the strange phenomena.

 

Neuhaus Sensei smoothly overlapped the ends of the chalk circle, pausing briefly to take in it's perfect symmetry before he began to lecture. 

 

"All right. We will now summon a demon." 

 

Rin gasped and took a half step forward; as soon as the circle had closed the subtle movement of the chalk lines transformed into a full on vibration that he could feel in his bones. Like an inaudible bass line with a vaguely dubstep rhythm, that is if dubstep were intrinsically enticing, seductive and demanded immediate obedience.

 

"Watch your step!" Neuhaus Sensei glared at Rin who quickly came to his senses and stepped back blushing.

 

"If the magic circle is broken it will lose it's effect. Now, to summon a demon you will need a drop of your blood and a suitable invocation."

 

Rin felt a little ill at the thought of watching someone hurt themselves deliberately as Neuhaus Sensei moved to draw the point of his compass across the skin of his arm.

 

Just then an obnoxious cellphone jingle split the tense atmosphere with a shrill but cheerful melody.

 

Neuhaus Sensei grunted and stepped back from the circle. "Hold class. Unfortunately I have to take this call."

 

He flipped his phone out efficiently and turned away from the paiges. Even though Neuhaus Sensei was making an effort to speak quietly it was obvious to Rin that the person on the other end didn't care one whit for discretion. 

 

Rin couldn't exactly make out what was being said but from the volume and tone of voice it was obvious that Neuhaus Sensei was being thoroughly scolded.

 

Rin didn't realize he had been leaning forward towards the circle again until Neuhaus Sensei turned back to the class and gave him a dark look.

 

"Class, my presence is required elsewhere for a moment." 

 

Neuhaus Sensei scuffed his foot through the circle on the floor, disrupting the magic. He slung his compass over his shoulder and pulled out his key ring.

 

"Behave, I will be right back." He twisted the key in the lock on the classroom door, and opening it, stepped through into a darkened room. 

 

The door shut behind him with a resounding clang leaving the paiges standing akwardly, clutching their summoning papers in front of the defunct summoning circle chalked on the ground.

 

Sugaro Ryuji finally had enough.

 

"This is absolute bullshit! First Tsubaki Sensei wanders off in the middle of class for a booty call and now Neuhaus Sensei is doing the same thing!?"

 

Shima Renzo smiled gently. "Now Bon, we don't know what that call was about, it was probably something important."

 

"Yeah Bon." Miwa Konekomaru chimed in. "The ringtone was an anime theme, I don't think that Neuhaus Sensei would have that as his regular ringtone. "

 

"It may have been the headmaster calling, he is a bit of an otaku after all, it kinda makes sense if you think about it." Renzo ruffled his pink hair nervously.

 

Ryuji's anger deflated. "Yeah, you guys are probably right. It's not like this was going to be a big deal or anything, being a tamer is supposed to be a really rare thing, I doubt any of us have the talent."

 

Kamiki Izumo puffed up in rightous indignation. 

 

"Speak for yourself loser!" She sneered as she bled on two summoning papers.

 

"I humbly appeal to thee o goddess Inari, grant my request, leave not my prayers to be unfulfilled!"

 

With a gust of wind and a flash of blinding light two ethereal white foxes sprang into being. They circled Izumo and assumed ready positions at her feet.

 

"Woah! That's so unbelievably cool!" Rin enthused while Ryuji seethed.

 

"Kamiki-san?! What the hell are you trying to prove!?" 

 

"Only the strongest among us can be tamers. It takes great will power and stamina to summon a familiar." Izumo casually ripped her summoning papers in half dismissing her foxes and fanned the remaining stack of summoning papers in Ryuji's face

 

"Let's see how you manage oh great challenger of Satan!"

 

"Peice of cake!" Ryuji growled as he took the papers from her with one hand. He grasped a straight pin in the same hand as the papers and pierced his skin.

 

Carefully letting only one drop of blood touch the top most paper he waited for words of summoning to come to mind. As the seconds stretched into minutes Ryuji began to fidget uncomfortably.

 

"Hey Bon, I think you are supposed to say something when you are trying to summon." Rin called out helpfully.

 

Ryuji turned several shades of red before he stomped over to Rin and shoved the unused wad of summoning papers into his hands.

 

"DON'T CALL ME THAT YA MORON!"

 

"Sorry, I was just trying to help......" Rin trailed off uncertainly at the anger on Ryuji's face. 

 

"You, helping me? Ha! That's a fucking joke! You couldn't help me find my way out of a wet paper bag!"

 

Rin stepped back warily clutching the papers to his chest. 

 

"Dude, why are you so fucking mean to me?! I didn't do a god damned thing to you!"

 

"That's because you don't do a god damned thing in the first place! Why don't you try it Okumura-kun, what's the harm? After all you will just fail at this the same way you fail at everything else!"

 

Rin was shocked into silence for a half a second before his pride reasserted itself.

 

"You know what!? Just for that I'm going to summon something that will knock your shoes off!"

 

Before Rin could run the straight pin through his flesh the classroom door swung open, slamming into the wall violently revealing a wide eyed and thoroughly incensed Okumura Yukio.

 

"RIN NO! EVERYONE STOP! How dare you play with this stuff!" He shouted at the room at large as he threw his briefcase in the general direction of the lectern. Yukio stepped quickly towards Rin with a thunderous look on his face.

 

"You don't know how badly this could have gone wrong without the supervision of a trained exorcist!"

 

Yukio snatched the wad of summoning papers out of Rin's hand and turned to face the rest of the class. 

 

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves! We could have all been killed - or worse, expelled!"

 

The second the words came out of his mouth the floor shook and the lights overhead flickered and died. The small windows in the top of the wall kept the room from being completely dark but the long shadows cast by their dim light were hardly reassuring.

 

Looking down at his hand Yukio realized with a thrill of foreboding that he must have cut himself on Rin's nails. The summoning papers in his fist were saturated with blood and a steady rivulet of crimson was dripping on the floor.

 

He felt strangely detached from the situation, almost as if it was happening to someone else. There was only one thought on his mind and it escaped from his mouth before he had the sense to keep it shut.

 

"Fucking hell, that is not good." 

 

The paiges didn't know what to be more suprised by, the suddenly dim and oddly frigid room, the blood dripping from their Sensei's hand, or the fact that he actually said a swear word.

 

Yukio discovered, as he was trying to think of an appropriate action to take, that his body was frozen in abject primal terror. As a shadowy figure rose from the floor he could do little more than gasp and pant in place.

 

Seeing that Yukio had completely seized up, Rin grabbed the papers from Yukio's hand and began frantically tearing them apart.

 

"SHIT! I don't know which one it is, they are all covered in your blood!"

 

"You can't banish me! I won't go back!" The demon ground out in a voice that sounded raspy from disuse as it stalked towards Yukio's rigid form.

 

The demon suddenly barked out a sillibant word while making a complex slashing motion with a slender stick.

 

Yukio gave a strangled cry of pain and collapsed heavily into the first row of desks. 

 

For a second Rin lost track of his surroundings as he dropped the summoning papers and frantically tore through the desks to get to Yukio.

 

The summoned demon continued to chant nonsense latin-ish words in roughly sing song manner.

 

"Yukio!" Rin turned his twin brother onto his back and was relieved to find that he was awake and breathing normally.

 

Rin's frantic examination of Yukio's chest revealed that his exorcists coat had been cut with surgical precision and his once white dress shirt was wet with blood.

 

Rin shakily peeled back Yukio's shirt but there were no visible wounds. Scrubbing lightly at his crimson stained skin Rin could just barely make out a light silvery scar resembling a circle inside a bisected triangle.

 

While Rin checked him over Yukio dazedly watched the demon retreat to the side of the room. As the gloom began to dissipate and the lights came back on Yukio was able to make out it's features more clearly.

 

It had a humanoid shape, slightly on the smaller side, but it's head was completely hidden by the shimmering cowel of a long flowing cloak. It's arms, visible from within the folds of the cloak, were covered in dense greenish black scales, like that of a giant snake. The scales on the legs were different, more armored, and were a darker color all together, as if the skin was from an entirely different demon. 

 

Yukio wondered, a little hysterically, if some demons did that; wore the skin of another demon, like a human wearing a human skin suit. 

 

Yukio shuddered hard at the thought and tried to take in the rest of the figure before him. The strangely colored, plate scaled legs transitioned into thick soled, sensible if slightly opalescent calf length boots.

 

He had summoned a humanoid demon wearing...shiny boots? With a gasp Yukio reached out to grab the crumpled summoning papers that Rin had dropped.

 

"Begone!" he yelled as he ripped the whole stack in half all at once.

 

The torn pieces of paper fluttered to the ground but the summons remained.

 

"I told you I won't go back." The demon folded it's arms across it's chest and leaned defiantly against the wall.

 

Yukio gaped at his summons, completely overwhelmed and was totally unprepared for Neuhaus Sensei to come barging back into the room.

 

Seeing Rin crouched over Yukio with blood everywhere and all the students looking shocked Neuhaus Sensei jumped directly to the wrong conclusion. 

 

Grinning maniacally he lashed out with his compass, brandishing the sharp point like a sword. 

 

"You fiend! Just as I suspected!"

 

Yukio reflexively pulled Rin down to safety but there just wasn't enough time for him to move as well. He turned his head and braced himself for Neuhaus Sensei's blow.

 

There was a blur of movement in front of Yukio and he looked up to see Neuhaus Sensei's compass being skillfully deflected by a flashing silver sword.

 

The red gems in the pommel caught the overhead lights, glowing like hot coals, as the compass was twisted out of Neuhaus Sensei's hand and kicked away. Yukio's demonic summoning raised it's sword and stepped forward as Neuhaus Sensei posed ready to draw blood across one of the many sigils on his arms.

 

"Woah, woah! Everyone just stop!" Yukio clamored to his feet to intercept his summons, "Don't attack!"

 

"Exorcist Okumura you are obviously injured and we need to neutralize the demon that attacked you!" Neuhaus totally disregarded Yukio's summons in favor of sending Rin a one eyed glare.

 

Rin sat up from where he had been thrown to the ground and opened his mouth to explain but Yukio cut him off before he could he could even suck in a breath.

 

"Sensei *I* summoned the demon by accident and I can't seem to send it back. I'm not hurt anymore it looks a lot worse than it is." Yukio grimaced at the tense, angry atmosphere. 

 

"Let's all calm down and put our weapons away."

 

The cloaked figure turned slightly, seemingly to ascertain Yukio's sincerity, and then with a nod of it's covered head the sword it was holding winked out of existence.

 

"Cool!" Renzo exclaimed quietly while the others still stood around in slack jawed amazement.

 

Neuhaus Sensei narrowed his eye and puffed out a heavy breath in Rin's direction. 

 

"What's this about a summons?"

 

Yukio started slightly at his change of tone.

 

"Ah, yes. You may remember that I didn't have any luck with summoning a familiar in the past."

 

"Thinking that I didn't have the ability I was careless while I was collecting the summoning papers from the students. Not realizing I had a cut on my hand I was astonished to find that the first words I said got a reaction."

 

Neuhaus Sensei gave Yukio a look of surprise.

 

"So this is what you summoned?"

 

Yukio nodded affirmatively while he carefully helped Rin to stand.

 

Neuhaus Sensei looked over the mysterious cloaked figure with an analytical eye.

 

"It's not a class of demon that I recognize."

 

"Me neither, but it's initial presence and abilities seem to point at either the Time or Spirit kingdom."

 

"Fascinating. Can you communicate with it?"

 

"Yes, it seems intelligent and speaks clearly."

 

Neuhaus Sensei coughed wetly to clear his throat and in a slightly exaggerated voice asked, "Hello can you understand me?"

 

**"Yes, I understand you just fine."** the figure drawled in a flat tone.

 

"I didn't understand that, what did it say?"

 

"It said that it understands you."

 

"That's very strange, I can hear it but it isn't speaking in Japanese. I hear something that could be English perhaps. Does anyone here know conversational English well enough to understand it?"

 

All the students shook their heads no including Yukio. 

 

Neuhaus Sensei gave Yukio a rare grin.

 

"Congratulations Okamura-kun! You now have a familiar and because of your bond you can understand it despite the apparent language barrier."

 

"Familiar? I don't have time for a familiar!"

 

Neuhaus gave Yukio an unimpressed look.

 

Flustered Yukio corrected himself. "Of course this will require some adjustment in my schedule as my familiar cannot be banished. I will give the matter my utmost attention over the weekend."

 

"Excellent Okumura-kun, I look forward to following up with you and your most intriguing new familiar."

 

Nodding approvingly Neuhaus Sensei carried on " Not that you were supposed to with me out of the room but has anyone else been able to summon anything?"

 

Izumo stepped forward with a haughty expression and quickly ran through the chant to summon her Byakko.

 

"Excellent summoning Kamiki-san! Two familiars at once, quite impressive"

 

Izumo flipped her hair and assumed a proud stance. "Thank you Sensei but it was really no trouble. I am decended from a long line of shrine maidens after all."

 

Neuhaus Sensei nodded and moved on. "Any one else that isn't an Okumura?"

 

Konekomaru and Renzou looked at each other and at Paku Noriko. Ryuji shook his head in exasperation. "No one else apart from Kamiki-san and Okumura Sensei managed anything."

 

"Ummmm Sensei." Sheimi quietly called out. "I didn't get a chance to try."

 

"Go ahead then, just say what comes naturally once you bloody the summoning paper."

 

"Ok." With a determined face Sheimi pricked her finger and neatly dabbed a drop on blood on the paper.

 

"Come on boy, come on boy......or something."

 

With a sudden green **POOF** and a high pitched "Nii!" a tiny bipedal shrubbery popped into being.

 

"If I'm not mistaken that's a baby Greenman. Excellent Moriyama-san, excellent."

 

"He's perfect!" With a blinding smile Sheimi cuddled her new familiar as it cooed and cuddled back.

 

Neuhaus Sensei stepped back to the front of the room and began gathering his paperwork.

 

"It seems that we have our tamer candidates for this class. Remember, having a demon familiar can be a double edged sword."

 

"On one hand having a demon familiar can be very empowering for an exorcist. On the other hand if your will is weak and you cannot control your demon it can turn on you."

 

Neuhaus Sensei gave Yukio a piercing look.

 

"Be careful"

 

He cleared his throat and passed out a worksheet.

 

"Your homework is to spend time with your new familiars, get to know their strengths and weaknesses, their likes and dislikes. Eventually we will discuss strategies for your familiars in field operations. For now you need to build trust and the foundation for a working relationship."

 

Renzo said a little too loudly "All right! No homework for the rest of us!"

 

Neuhaus Sensei ignored Renzo's outburst. "Homework for those of you who did not summon a familiar is to research demon contracts. Even though you don't have the innate ability to summon a demon directly from Gehenna that doesn't preclude the possibility of demonic assistance for exorcism. Gehennen politics are dynamic and factious, the old adage 'the enemy of my enemy is a potential ally' holds very true."

 

"That's all for today. Please straighten up the classroom before you leave and have a good weekend, class is dismissed."

 

Neuhaus left as the bell rang, swinging his briefcase in his hand, the massive compass held threateningly just over his shoulder.

 

Yukio turned as the door shut and sighed quietly at the mess in front of him.

 

Quite a few desks were damaged by the earlier scuffle, no doubt because of Rin.

 

There was a slowly drying pool of his blood staining the floor and small scraps of summoning paper littered the floor like confetti.

 

"Class dismissed." Yukio said flatly.

 

"Are you sure Okumura Sensei?" Ryuji asked "We can stay and help."

 

"No, go on. I would like to take care of this myself."

 

With that Yukio began righting desks as his students filed out. Rin lingered uncertainly finally coming over and helping Yukio move the desks back into place.

 

"Man, some of these are really banged up."

 

Rin chuckled nervously running a hand through the hair on the back of his head.

 

"That thing pointed a stick at you then all of a sudden you were on the floor and with your blood everywhere....I lost it a little. But on the plus side, I didn't flame up!"

 

Yukio chuckled weakly and pushed his glasses back to a more comfortable position. 

 

"I have to give you credit there Nii-san, you didn't lose control completely."

 

Rin expression was contrite. "I'm sorry Yukio, I....." 

 

Looking down at the red stains on his brother's shirt and the dark pool of blood on the floor Rin frowned. 

 

Yukio sighed. "I don't blame you. It was my fault to begin with. I saw you holding the summoning papers and I freaked out. I didn't even notice I had cut myself...."

 

Rin looked down at his hand. "They aren't exactly claws but they are sharper and stronger than normal human nails."

 

"I know and I should have been careful but I was scared you were going to summon a demon and get yourself hurt."

 

Rin grinned a little "So basically you jumped in and acted stupid for me, I feel the love Ototou!"

 

Yukio ignored Rin's jibe in favor of removing his uniform coat to inspect the damage. "Look at this! And my shirt is a mess too! I have no idea how I am going to make it back to our dorm without scaring anyone."

 

"Yeah and there really isn't much we can do about the broken desks but we should probably look for a mop before all the blood dries."

 

Yukio sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose under his glasses "I wish we could just put it all back the way it was before."

 

"Repairo!"

 

Yukio jumped when his shirt suddenly rippled, the rent shreds wriggling back together before his eyes like watching a film in reverse.

 

Startled cobalt blue eyes met his own teal. The desks, hell, everything in the room suddenly looked like it was brand new and there was a stack of pristine summoning papers on the floor.

 

"Scourgify!"

 

The floor shined softly, the not a speck of blood to be seen. Yukio looked down in wonder at snowy whiteness of his suddenly pristine dress shirt.

 

Yukio's familiar stood with it's stick angled away so as to appear nonthreatening but still ready to take action.

 

Rin was the first one to break the astonished silence.

 

"No fucking way! That isn't a stick, that's a magic wand! Your familiar can do magic, bro I'm so jealous of you!"

 

Rin slung an arm over Yukio's shoulder to pull him into a congratulatory hug not noticing the slight shaking of Yukio's body.

 

Yukio pushed Rin off and grabbed the demon roughly by the cloak. 

 

"Why now!?" He snarled. 

 

"Why the fuck are you here now? Why not ten weeks ago, why not two years ago, hell, why not when I was just a little kid and I needed you?!" 

 

Yukio aggressively shook the slight figure like a rag doll, but it made no sound or moved to defend itself, and the deep shadows of it's cowl gave nothing away.

 

"Woah Yukio calm down." 

 

Rin tried to intercede but only succeeded in making Yukio spin around and grab him by the lapels.

 

"God dammit Rin! You saw what it did!"

 

"It cut me to ribbons in one second and then healed me in the next! If it would have come when I needed it Tou-san would still be alive and you wouldn't be here!"

 

Rin scowled darkly. "You still don't want me here, is that it?"

 

Yukio spluttered in rage. 

 

"Of course I don't want you here! You being here puts you in danger and fuck! If you never had to unseal that cursed demon sword you would still be a human being!"

 

"I could be going to school without having to worry about whether or not you are going to snap and go on a killing spree, or hell, more likely, get your dumb ass killed because you don't fucking think!"

 

"What would have happened Rin!? You see what I summoned and I'm the human one of the two of us, what the hell do you think your demon blood would have pulled through?!"

 

"An eldritch horror from the void?! The fucking Gehenna gate?!"

 

"Satan himself could have come through, possessed you and we would all be dead now!"

 

Yukio growled in anger and frustration as he opened the classroom door.

 

"I am not a child anymore Rin! I haven't been for a long time. It's high time that you grew up as well, and if you can't get over this suicidal tendency to throw yourself on the nearest grenade I swear to God I will lock you up and throw away the fucking key!"

 

Swinging his coat over his shoulder he yelled "Be home before dark!"

 

An echoing crack followed the door slamming shut behind Yukio.

 

Rin hesitated for a moment and then rushed to follow his brother but by the time he reached the door the hallway was clear.

 

"He must have used one of his keys, fuck."

 

Rin sighed and slid down the door to sit on the floor. His tail, which had come unbound from around his waist, twitched back and forth erratically.

 

"Are you ok?"

 

Rin looked up, Yukio's familiar was crouched down angled towards him apparently trying to show concern.

 

Feeling caught out by the fact that a total stranger, a demon no less, was showing more concern over his well being than his own blood relation, Rin let out a startled laugh that quickly turned into choking sobs. Leaning forward he buried his face in cool fabric as strong arms came up to embrace him.

 

Rin was surprised to find that Yukio's familiar was nice to hug. 

 

The hard looking scales of it's arms were individually solid but together as a whole were supple and flexible like fine chain mail. The demon's cloak enveloped him and for the first time since he was a young child Rin felt completely safe. Eventually his keening noises quieted and his tears lessened; leaning back slightly he began drying his face with the hem of his shirt.

 

Yukio's familiar stood silently and held out it's hand. Blushing at his loss of composure Rin took the offered hand and stood up.

 

"Thanks, it's been a really bad couple of months."

 

Yukio's familiar nodded in agreement and then crossed it's arms "Now what?"

 

"I guess we should head home before it gets late. Spotty face four eyes was so mad he left his briefcase." 

 

Rin gestured towards the teachers lectern.

 

"Do you mind grabbing that?"

 

"No problem." The demon picked up the briefcase checking that the latches were closed completely. 

 

"Follow me, you should be staying with us in our dorm. Yukio is my younger twin brother and my name is Rin."

 

"We have our own dorm building because, as you may have heard when Yukio screamed it in my face, I have demon blood that awakened about ten weeks ago. It isn't safe for me to be housed with the rest of the students. I guess you wouldn't really care about that...." 

 

Rin looked back at the familiar who gave a shrug.

 

"No, not really, even as a demon you seem like a better person than the humans I have known."

 

Rin blushed deeply "Um, thanks, that's really nice. Most people seem to hate my guts on principle."

 

The demon chortled. "That is also something I am familiar with."

 

Rin smiled and opened a door at the end of the hallway. 

 

They stepped out into weak sunlight, the sky was already taking on a amber glow and the shadows were long and deep.

 

"Wow, it's a lot later than I thought it was. Um, you would probably like to know where you were summoned to."

 

"This is True Cross Academy, the exorcist cram school you appeared in is a secret and only a tiny part of the school here. The school itself is massive, exclusive and highly ranked. We are in Japan, outside of Tokyo, you don't speak Japanese do you?"

 

"No, I speak English but I can understand you, Yukio and whatever Yukio hears that he is paying attention to."

 

"Oh, so that's how you understood Neuhaus Sensei. We understand each other because I am a demon too."

 

Yukio's familiar shrugged. 

 

"I don't mind, I suppose I will have to learn your language eventually but right now I am just happy to be somewhere. I'm not sure how long I was in limbo."

 

"Well if it helps it's the year 2010 and we are still in the beginning of the school year."

 

The demon stumbled slightly as they crossed a bridge.

 

"Fifteen years! I have been less than nothing in nowhere for fifteen years!"

 

"Um wow, I'm fifteen, that's a long time...." realizing too late how tactless his statement was Rin trailed off uncomfortably. 

 

As they made their way up a wide stone staircase the gloomy shadow of the old men's dorm engulfed them.

 

"Despite looking like the set of a horror film it's the safest building on campus. Anyone trying to break in without the key will get bounced into the courtyard with extreme prejudice by the wards."

 

Rin pulled out an utterly mundane key and unlocked the front door.

 

"Some of the keys we have are magic and turn doorways into portals to specific locations. The key to the dorm is just a regular key, I will see about getting you a copy."

 

Rin gallantly held the door open for the demon before he turned to lock it behind them.

 

"We have to keep the front door secure so random students don't stumble in while trying to find a place to party."

 

Rin laughed "It's just the two of us here so there isn't much to show you. Let's check in on Yukio and see what he wants for dinner."

 

They turned down a poorly lit hallway and ascended a flight of scuffed but still sturdy stairs.

 

After five landings Rin led the demon out of the stairwell and down the hall.

 

He stopped at the door numbered 602 and held up his hand.

 

"Shhhhh, let's sneak in real quick and see what Yukio is up to."

 

Rin opened the door quietly; the room was cast in shadow with the exception of a small desk lamp.

 

The lamp was mounted to the left side of a divider that evenly split the area in front a large window. In the left alcove below the lamp was a desk that was almost totally devoid of books but somehow still messily covered in crap. Conversely, the desk to the right of the divider was crammed with books but was neat as a pin.

 

"Ah man. It looks like Yukio is in bed for the night." Rin whispered quietly. 

 

He gestured to the shadowy sleeping platform on the other side of the room. The chair, which would normally be pushed into the right hand desk was placed near the head of the bed with Yukio's heavy black exorcists coat draped over it.

 

"He only does that when he doesn't want to be woken up for anything less than a structure fire." 

 

Rin noticed the half empty glass of water on the floor and sighed.

 

"Damn. He probably took a sleeping aid too which means he skipped dinner."

 

"I was hoping we could talk things out over food but it doesn't look like that's going to happen tonight. How about you, hungry at all?"

 

"I should be, I'm not really sure though. I have gone a long time without eating before and sometimes you forget because you just get used to feeling empty."

 

The repressed pain in the demon's quiet voice made Rin's stomach ache sympathetically. 

 

"That sounds awful, I love food, in fact I love to cook too so how about you and I go down to the kitchen and see what I can whip up." 

 

Rin half turned and stopped short.

 

"I don't want to assume but would you like to change out of all this." Rin waved his hand vaguely gesturing to the cloak and boots.

 

"That would be nice but I'm not sure what I have with me that's appropriate to wear."

 

"Oh no problem, if you don't mind I can give you some sweatpants and a t-shirt to wear."

 

"Thank you, that sounds nice."

 

Rin bent down to rummage through his drawers while the demon carefully pulled out the chair from the left hand desk. 

 

The cloak swirled away into nothing before the demon put a boot down on the chair and began methodically unbuckleing. Repeating the same sequence with the other boot, eventually both shoes were removed and placed carefully under the desk.

 

With a flourish of cloth the demon sat down on the chair and bent over.

 

Rin saw the motion in the corner of his eye and turned involuntarily to look.

 

A long sleeve double breasted surcoat made of some kind of green scaled material was draped casually over the back of the chair and black pants made out of some sort of animal skin, like something off a giant lizard, pooled around the demon's feet. It was bent over at the waist, a shock of unruly dark red hair obscured it's face while it fiddled around trying to pull off socks and pants all in one go.

 

The demon sat up and upon catching Rin's dumbfounded expression began apologizing. 

 

"I'm sorry for putting my manky boots up on the chair but they are a real pain in the ass to get off."

 

Rin gaped in astonishment at the demon's lean tanned legs, letting his eyes trail up to small black athletic shorts, flared hips, trim waist and a generous amount of cleavage peaking out of the top of a utilitarian black sports bra.

 

"Holy crap you are a girl!" 

 

Rin was a little loud in his shock and demon lept forward to clap a hand over his mouth.

 

"Shhhhh, be quiet." 

 

They both froze in place for entirely different reasons.

 

Rin, who was scant inches away from burying his face in her chest, choked down a whine.

 

The demon posed silently with her hand over Rin's mouth watching Yukio's side of the room intently. Satisfied that Yukio was still asleep she whispered into Rin's ear.

 

"Did you find something for me to wear?"

 

Overwrought Rin mutely held out a handful of garments and when it became apparent that she was going to strip the rest of the way in front of him he slammed his eyelids closed.

 

He could hear the soft shuffling of her bare feet on the wood floor as she exchanged her shorts for his sweat pants and the muted thud of her bra hitting the side of his bed barely registered over the blood pounding in his ears.

 

"All done." She said softly as she slipped on a spare set of house shoes.

 

"All right then." Rin squeaked.

 

He shuffled dazedly out of the room leading the way.

 

As they decended to the first floor Rin worked on calming down by counting the stairs as they went.

 

Somewhere around stair number 30 he felt like he could breathe normally. The intial shock of seeing how powerful Yukio was based on the demon he summoned was passing and now he was worried. Not only was the demon a wand wielding honest to god magical badass with a sword, she was also totally human looking which sent a shiver down Rin's spine.

 

As they reached the first floor Rin put that thought aside and as he crossed through the cafeteria to the kitchen Rin finally felt in control of himself again. 

 

"Hey Ukobach! What's in the fridge?" He called out cheerfully.

 

Ukobach meeped a short answer but they could both clearly hear him say "A little bit of everything, who's your friend?"

 

"This is Yukio's new familiar.....ummm you know what, I'm sorry I never asked your name!" 

 

Rin looked thoroughly embarrassed by his oversight and Yukio's familiar laughed lightly at his discomfort. 

 

"It's ok, Harry is fine."

 

Ukobach scrambled up the cabinet and onto the counter next to Harry, reaching out with his hands he asked "May I?"

 

Harry nodded and the diminutive stove sprit traced one finger gently across her upper lip looking for fangs that were not there while his other hand was feeling the rounded shell of her ear.

 

"How strange!" He squeaked "Are your demonic powers sealed?"

 

She frowned "Not that I'm aware of."

 

"No way!" Seconded Rin "When Harry was summoned it was terrifying, she's way powerful!"

 

"Interesting!" Ukobach chirped and shrugged "Just when you think you've seen it all....anyway what do you kids want to eat?"

 

Harry smiled shyly "I haven't had Japanese food before so I don't know what I like but I will try whatever you want to make."

 

"What is your favorite food?"

 

"I love treacle tart, it's a kind of dessert and pretty much anything with bacon in it is always a winner."

 

Ukobach looked over at Rin. 

 

"How does okonomiyaki for dinner and syrup filled melonpan for dessert sound?"

 

"That sounds good let me start the cabbage and the bacon if you want to handle the batter for okonomiyaki and the melonpan dough."

 

Ukobach nodded and started pulling out mixing bowls while Rin rummaged through the fridge.

 

Harry hopped up on an unused section of the countertop. Swinging her feet idly she watched the two chefs at work.

 

"I'm a pretty decent cook but I grew up cooking British food. Probably the most exotic thing I can make is pub style curry chips."

 

Rin laughed "I don't know, that sounds pretty exotic to me."

 

"Deep fried potato slices topped with sautéed vegetables in a mild yellow curry" Ukobatch said without taking his eyes off the batter he was mixing.

 

Harry smiled "Basically what he said is it. You can add some diced chicken in to make it a more substantial meal but it's pretty basic to prepare."

 

"There is nothing wrong with that, the basics are the foundation of cooking. As long as it tastes good and makes you feel good it doesn't matter if it is stew or a soufflé."

 

"Well in that case Rin just keep in mind if you want it boiled, roasted or fried then I'm your girl!"

 

"Good to know! And for everything else there is Ukobach." 

 

Ukobach took a moment to give a funny little bow and the kitchen was bright with laughter.

 

Dinner was satisfying and after dessert the three demons drank a soothing cup of tea while they chatted about living accommodations.

 

"Ukobach likes to sleep in the kitchen near the stove but I am guessing you would probably like a bed to sleep on."

 

"I have a bed!" Ukobach grumbled indignantly.

 

"Yes, and it's a lovely sack of buckwheat hulls. Harry, it would be no problem to clear out a room for you. You can pick one near ours or on a different floor if you like, we have the building to ourselves so we can do pretty much what we want."

 

Harry sat finger combing her hair with one hand while she stifled a yarn with another.

 

"Maybe we can do that tomorrow. I'm exhausted and I would really like to see where Yukio wants me before I get settled in anywhere. Can I sleep with you tonite?"

 

Rin spluttered into his tea cup for a moment.

 

"Yeah if that's what you want, you don't have to worry about me trying any funny stuff. Personally I don't to be murdered in my sleep even if it's death by cute girl." 

 

"But I warn you I snore sometimes and my tail has a mind of it's own."

 

Harry chuckled weakly.

 

"I'm not worried about it. This has been a very difficult day but you have been kind and honestly anything is better than where I was, so thank you."

 

Rin blushed at the compliment and turned to Ukobach.

 

"Not to change the subject but do you want help cleaning up in here?"

 

"No, I can handle it. You kids get some rest."

 

Rin and Harry sleepily said good night and shuffled up the stairs.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Congratulations on making it this far! 
> 
> Not that anyone has said anything but you may have noticed most of Neuhaus' dialogue is lifted directly from the anime episode Flock of Plovers.
> 
> This is absolute intentional as I very firmly wanted to ground the story in the familiar before moving into strange waters.
> 
> Don't worry, that's the only dialogue I stole from the source material. Everything else is a fabrication cooked up by my convoluted brain.
> 
> Despite the crazy tags this isn't an orgy or a harem fic. The sex is there and it deserves an E rating but it is there for reasons that are relevant to the story.
> 
> The incest is taken from a matter of factly demon biology perspective as opposed to being presented as a kink (not that I am kink shaming anyone!).
> 
> I have tried my damndest to use Japanese honorifics properly because I like the emphasis they give to certain characters and it is a quick dirty way to differentiate between speech primarily in Japanese and speech primarily in English without having come up with complicated formatting. 
> 
> I try to break up my info dump/block-o-text paragraphs into easily digested chunks as much as possible but I'm not always successful (sorry I can't help myself!).
> 
> Anyway, if you have a question or just want to say hi leave me a comment below!
> 
>  
> 
> Old author's note:
> 
> I have 30 chapters of this prewritten and decided to go ahead and start posting before I get into a revision death spiral..having said that I often catch things after I have posted so don't be suprised if you see changes in the story. It will only be grammar, spelling errors and minor corrections so don't sweat!
> 
> This story borrows primarily from the Manga version of AoNoEx but I mix in bits from the anime versions and movie where it makes sense to do so. I try to avoid being overly spoilery, as this is an AU cannon divergent fic I won't be following any specific arcs, however I have read up to chapter 102 in the manga so that is going to have some influence on the story progression.
> 
> Much of my characterization of Yukio, especially regarding his quirks and inner dialogue, is adapted from Salaryman Exorcist: Okumura Yukio no Aishuu (with the humor toned down to an appropriate level for this story) because I really enjoy his character and I want Yukio to catch break.
> 
> Harry Potter as a girl! and a Slytherin is a result of all the 'what ifs' and speculation accumulated in my brain from 18+ years of reading fiction in that fandom.
> 
> Both AoNoEx and HP cannon jump ship fairly early in their respective timelines so I can play fix-it.
> 
> Fun!
> 
> I will post weekly until I catch up with myself. Hopefully I can keep a good pace with the writing so there aren't any significant lapses in posting times.
> 
> All mistakes are my own, the characters and settings are not.
> 
> If you like it, hate it or are on the fence and want to share your thoughts please leave a review.
> 
> I may not respond to everyone but I love to chat and will do my best!


	2. Unpacking the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio secretly hates mornings. Harry and Rin bond over books.

 

Just before opening the door to the bedroom Rin paused "What side of the bed do you want?"

 

"The wall please."

 

"All right" Rin opened the door quietly and padded silently across the floor while Harry softly closed the door behind them.

 

He pulled back the covers and split his two pillow high stack in half laying them side by side. He stepped back and Harry crawled in sighing as she relaxed into the padded mattress and tucked the blankets around her. Finally remembering to turn off the desk lamp, Rin admired the faint glow of the lights in the courtyard and the wan moonlight that slanted in through the window. He eased in on his side leaving plenty of space between the two of them as he pulled the blankets up the rest of the way and rolled over to face Harry.

 

Rin was surprised to see that she was facing him and even in weak light he could see her eyes clearly. They were a glittering almost phosphorescent green. Thinking hard he decided that green was too simple of a word to describe Harry's eyes. 

 

Sheimi had green eyes, as bright as sunlight filtering through new leaves, they shone like healthy growing things. The color that cut through the shadows between them now was something entirely different.

 

"Smaragdine." Rin blurted out softly into the air between them.

 

"What?" She scrunched up her face like she might laugh making the glow sparkle and deepen.

 

"Your eyes are a really unique color. Yukio has me studying a bunch of Latin crap for cram school, I don't understand much of it but I do remember smaragdine or smaragdinus is like or the same as emerald."

 

Harry reached over and lightly ran her finger tips down Rin's exposed right arm, raising goosebumps in their wake, stopping only to loosely tangle her fingers with his.

 

"Esquamulose." She said

 

"What?" He was overwhelmed and unable to parse her statement.

 

"Your skin is really smooth, e meaning 'not', squamula meaning 'small scaled'. I had to study some Latin crap when I was in school too."

 

Rin held back a slightly hysterical giggle.

 

Harry abruptly released his fingers and patted the back of his hand gently. "They aren't that unique, I was always told they are exactly the same as my mom's." She paused for a moment and looked thoughtful.

 

"I'm sorry I ruined your complement, I should have just said thanks."

 

He really didn't mind, he wasn't trying to flatter her, in fact he was a little embarrassed that he was letting his mouth say dumb shit without his input.

 

Sensing that the conversation was over she rolled over to face the wall and whispered "Good night Rin."

 

"Goodnight." Rin whispered back.

 

Rolling over to face out towards Yukio's side of the room he thought as he closed his eyes that she was wrong. If anyone who knew her from before could see her eyes now there was no way they would say they were like her mom's. There was something otherworldly, old and inhuman, something purely of Gehenna, that lurked in their beryl depths.

 

Rin thought he had seen that same shine in Yuki's eyes before and wondered for a moment which one of them, Yukio or Rin, had inherited their mother's eyes. Before he could consciously begin working towards figuring it out he had drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

 

*******************************

 

Yukio turned off the alarm on his phone which had been set to vibrate right next to his head and wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. Contrary to popular opinion he wasn't completely blind without his glasses, just rather nearsighted. Glancing at the lock screen on his phone he was annoyed to see he had already wasted 15 minutes of his morning wiping off his crusty eye lids and struggling to wake up.

 

That was the problem with sleep aids; they made him feel like his head was stuffed with cotton wool and his mouth tasted like he had been licking the backside of one of Asteroth's kin. 

 

Blech, and all the fucked up dreams, like the one where he accidentally summoned a demon familiar that he couldn't get rid of. Oh wait, nope that was real, he rubbed the healed but still achy spot on his chest. He wondered where the damn thing went after he stormed out on Rin. If he was lucky it was still in the classroom waiting patiently and he could put off dealing with it until Monday. Fingers crossed and with that thought he muttered "Dammit all." quietly to himself as he crawled out of his blankets.

 

Grabbing his hygiene caddy, he shuffled across the floor intent on making it to the bathroom. Just as he was about to reach the bedroom door he tripped over a garment on the floor.

 

"God dammit, ouch." He accidentally kicked the door while trying the extract his foot from what looked like a pair of black shorts.

 

"Fucking head ache of an older brother leaving his crap all over the room!" He turned seething quietly. Not seeing Rin's laundry hamper out anywhere obvious he went ahead and stuffed the black wad of fabric in his own hamper before finally making it out of the room.

 

The shower was warm and soothing which was wearing away at his resolve to be productive. Yukio sighed, god a day off this week would have been amazing but after the clusterfuck that was yesterday he was so upset that he didn't get any of the home work done last night that he needed to do when he got home. Angrily turning off the water he figured the best he could do now was to get it done early in the day so he could at least have the evening off.

 

Walking back into the bedroom in a towel Yukio crouched down to put his hygiene things away.

 

After a vigorous toweling off, fresh underpants and two energy drinks, Yukio felt a little less like crawling back into bed and a little more like he could face another Saturday of paperwork.

 

Yukio pulled his prepared uniform off the back of his desk chair and was a little disturbed to find that he was considering wearing the same shirt he wore the previous day. Whatever magic his unexpected familiar wrought on it was strong and the shirt looked cleaner than any of the shirts that were actually laundered.

 

"Quite a conundrum" Yukio thought to himself, "No one will know except for me that the shirt is the same from yesterday, but the real issue is whether or not that is going to bother me all day." for a second Yukio could imagine Rin having this same conversation with himself trying to justify wearing the same boxer shorts two days in a row.

 

Yukio shuddered with mild revulsion, Nii-san would definitely do something like that, eeeeeeeeeew!

 

"It's impossible for me to do that even by accident, that's why I have all different colors and prints" Yuiko affirmed in the silence of his own mind. Even the undignified cartoon cat design that Rin picked out served a purpose. As long as he didn't wear the same design two days in a row he would never make the mistake of wearing dirty underwear! Success!

 

Yukio gave himself a mental pat on the back for his creative hygiene solution as he moved his hands automatically through the practiced motions of suiting up in his uniform. He had been wearing it so often lately that he could do up all the fastenings and set up his holster in total darkness.

 

Boots on and fully dressed he moved quietly to his desk to retrieve a pair of glasses. Yukio reminded himself that he didn't need his full medical kit, he was just going down to the help desk, hopefully to commandeer the small briefing room in the back before day shift got in.

 

In his experience if he wore his full uniform and looked deeply involved in something people had the tendency to simply leave him alone. It was unfortunate, if he stayed home he wouldn't get any work done because Rin would bug him all day.

 

Glancing across the room at Rin's bed he couldn't help but tsk at Rin laying face down on the mattress with his tail coiled up next to him like a garden hose. As the end of it twitched he amended his thought from garden hose to black snake.

 

On the bed next to Rin, pressed up against the wall, was a rumpled pile of blankets and clothing. Yukio snorted and thought, "So that's where Nii-san shoved his dirty clothes. What a disgrace, if Tou-san was here he would have dumped Rin on the floor and buried him in his own dirty laundry to teach him a lesson!" 

 

Yukio smiled sadly at the thought and decided to leave Rin be. It was hard to step into father's shoes and he had been struggling enough as it was without adding more drama.

 

Yukio glanced down at his watch, "Shit!" 

 

He had about 10 minutes before day shift showed up. Now more that ever he was happy to have a number of Mephesto's magic keys. "All I need is my briefcase."

 

With a sinking feeling Yukio remembered that he left the damn thing in the classroom yesterday. 

 

"Already this day blows." but what was this!? Low and behold, there propped so close the bedroom door that he wondered how he missed it earlier, was his briefcase. In his mind the simple brown leather gave off a serene golden glow, like a side quest item in an MMO.

 

"Hallelujah! Thank you Rin!" Sometimes having Rin as a brother was awesome.

 

Yukio picked up his briefcase and used his key on the door with his other hand. With one last warm smile at Rin, who's snoring was comically muffled by his pillow, Yukio swept out the door closing it behind him with an echoing crack.

 

"Well if I wasn't awake before I am now, asshole!" Rin growled out into the predawn gloom.

 

"I'm sorry Rin!" Harry's earnest expression was framed by the mound of blankets.

 

"Nah, I'm not talking about you! I barely noticed when you climbed over me and kneed me in the back or when you stole all the blankets and kicked me to the edge of the bed." Rin propped himself up on his elbows and sleepily grinned at Harry.

 

"No, I'm talking about the specky boy wonder who just rudely slammed the door."

 

Harry shook herself free of her blanket nest and snickered "I forgot his briefcase was next to your chair. With my surcoat draped over it I didn't think he would see it, so when he was out of the room for a while I got up to move it over by the door. He came back as I was bending down to set against the wall!"

 

"So wait somehow he didn't see you at all but you saw him in only a towel?"

 

Harry shook her head no, denying that she was looking and Rin's grin took on a slightly evil cant, "So what pattern boxers is he wearing today."

 

"Dark blue with black and white cartoon cat heads." Harry clapped her hands over her mouth before she blurted out anything else incriminating.

 

"Awesome!" Rin lazily pumped his fist in the air "Those are the pair I picked out for him, he must not be too mad at me then!"

 

"Wait, your brother has angry boxers?"

 

"Yeah, and grudge boxers, happy boxers, sad boxers. He has one print for every major emotional state. It's a sophisticated code but that's Yukio for you, super smart and super complicated."

 

"Wow. He's that high strung huh?"

 

"Unfortunately. I try to get him to unwind from time to time but he's just so damn busy. If he left in full uniform then he probably got paged to go out on a job. He won't be home all day so we can go back to sleep if you want."

 

"No, I'm awake now."

 

"Well let's get an early breakfast and see about getting your room set up."

 

After performing their morning ablutions, breakfast was a simple affair comprised of fruit and leftovers.  

 

Harry decided to take the room to the right of Rin and Yukio's. With few flicks of her wand and some mangled Latin Harry cleared the dust and modified the room to make it single occupancy with an open lounge area to the right. Her sleeping platform shared a wall with Yukio's, presumably so she could feel like she was staying close to him.

 

"Well that was easy. Are you going to make some stuff for the shelves and walls?"

 

"Unfortunately conjured objects don't stay around forever and I would hate to have something 'poof' away at an inopportune time."

 

"We could wait for Yuki to get home and see if he will take you shopping. Sorry, I would offer to take you myself but I'm broke and he's the one with a job."

 

"That's fine. I may have something in my surcoat that will help."

 

They walked back over to Rin and Yukio's room so Harry could rummage through her coat. After a few minutes of digging around through pockets that Rin could have sworn were impossible (at some points Harry looked like she was reaching in past her elbow), Harry finally made a triumphant sound and pulled out a small beaded purple clutch.

 

Rin quirked an eyebrow at the queer little bag. "It looks like something a grandma would take to a dinner party."

 

"Don't let it's gaudy appearance fool you, this is a very special bag. My best friend, who was a certified genius, enchanted this bag to be bottomless. It was given to me shortly before I was trapped in limbo."

 

"I haven't had a chance to go through it to see what she put in it, limbo wasn't exactly conducive to handling material goods. In fact I'm not entirely sure I had a body while I was in there."

 

Harry shuddered sightly and shut her eyes briefly before continuing. 

 

"Anyway, knowing her it's crammed full of books and but at the very least there should be some linens and a change of clothes."

 

"Woah, so this little bag could have anything and up to everything in it. Yeah! Come on open it up!"

 

Harry pressed her thumb to the scalloped silver clasp and hissed slightly as it pricked her finger. "It's a keyed blood seal, a bit of a pain but overall a good security feature."

 

The mouth of the bag expanded way past it's base dimensions as Harry thrust her hand in and rummaged around.

 

"Oh Merlin! I think there's a tent in here!"

 

"Really?! Let me help!" Together Rin and Harry began hauling a long, bulky canvas roll out of the mouth of the bag. The best they could do was back it out into the hallway.

 

"Wow this is massive!"

 

"Its even larger than you think. Tents like this are made bigger on the inside as a matter of course and this one, based on the exterior dimensions, is meant to look like a small house when pitched. It even has a camouflage feature."

 

Sure enough the fabric which had started out a garish purple color was slowly taking on the color and texture of the wood floor.

 

"So that's it?"

 

"Not at all." Harry groaned "I think we are going to have to take everything out of the bag individually and repack what I don't need at the moment. As impressive as the tent is I really don't need it banging about."

 

Several hours later, as predicted, stacks of books had completely over run their working space. Harry and Rin were forced to stop and go on a scavenger hunt in the old dormitory to salvage some book cases. They had just managed to wrestle the last shelving unit into place; Harry was busy casting stabilization and containment charms when Rin decided to take a break

 

"Man, I'm beat. Even with you levitating the book cases, nice trick by the way, those suckers were heavy"

 

"That's a good thing. They need to be solid to hold magic books." 

 

Harry had moved on to shelving starting with one of the stacks that was in her bedroom while Rin picked up a thick tome with unintelligible gold lettering on the spine.

 

"So all these books are magic, like they are demonically possessed?"

 

"Possessed, no probably not. I have only ever seen one book that was genuinely possessed and it contained a portion of a human soul. While some people would disagree with me for saying this I know for a fact he wasn't a demon, just a very bad human who hurt a lot of people." 

 

"It sounds like there is quite a story behind that statement."

 

"There is but it's not something I am particularly proud of." 

 

Harry paused for a moment and set the book she was shelving down. She turned towards Rin extending her right arm. 

 

"See that scar there." Harry pointed out a circular scar that was well healed but still textured enough to look painful.

 

"The book was a diary that was possessed by a portion of the soul of the original owner. A underclassmen of mine thought it was enchanted to talk back, like a sort of magical pen pal. The book had enough sentience of it's own to possess her body and at the books direction she set a monster loose in the school. I got this scar from where it bit me but not before I rammed a sword into it's brain."

 

"That scar was from a single fang!? What the hell kind of monster was it?"

 

"A rare but highly venomous magical snake called a basilisk. The one that bit me was about 15 meters long. I didn't want to kill it but it was totally under the control of the possessed book and wouldn't listen to reason. Basilisks have nearly impenetrable skin and are resistant to most magic. The only way I could subdue it was by stabbing it in the mouth, which of course was full of big sharp pointy teeth."

 

Rin let out a started laugh "I'm sorry, that sound terrifying. How old were you?"

 

"12"

 

"What!? How are you not dead!?"

 

"Very good luck, or very bad luck depending on how you look at it."

 

Rin gave her a confused look.

 

Harry rushed to explain "The headmaster had a phoenix familiar that liked me and as phoenix tears are pretty much the only antidote to counteract basilisk envenomation I was lucky he was nearby and willing to cry for me. I say I'm also unlucky because I fully blame the headmaster for allowing the situation to get to the point where I was forced to fight."

 

"Yeah I can understand that. Adults are supposed to protect and take care of kids, not treat them like weapons even if they are more capable than normal kids."

 

Rin gestured to himself. "Take me for example; I have always been abnormally strong. When I was a kid it was terrible, I was always accidentally breaking things or hurting people." 

 

"I can't think of a time where I was treated as something other than a ticking bomb primed to blow up. Everyone was scared of me and I never knew why."

 

"Didn't find out I was half demon until a few weeks ago but I also found out that pretty much everyone except for me knew the whole time. Hell, even Yukio knew, it's just fucked up."

 

"Yeah that's bullocks. I got similar treatment, except they couldn't decide if I was going to be the second coming of Merlin or the next dark lord. Everyone seemed pretty convinced that I was the one responsible for the basilisk attacks, killing the poor thing was the only way to stop the situation from escalating and the only way to clear my name."

 

"You sound like you would have rather kept it as a pet."

 

"I like snakes, my first friend was a grass snake that was fond of a neighbor's goldfish pond, a decent enough conversationalist but had an unfortunate predilection for terrible puns."

 

Rin laughed "I can't imagine a snake making puns."

 

"Be glad you didn't have to listen to them, they made absolutely no sense at all but I was informed that it was my shortcomings as a non snake that made the humor incomprehensible." Harry rolled her eyes. 

 

Rin smiled as he turned to pass Harry more books "Well at least that's something we have in common."

 

"What's that?"

 

"Neither of us are snakes but you sure had me fooled, what's with your scaly work clothes."

 

"Oh, my armor." Harry frowned for a moment "The surcoat is basilisk, the pants and boots are Hungarian Horntail."

 

"The same snake you killed."

 

"Yeah."

 

"Damn. That's crazy. What's a Hungarian Horntail?"

 

"A highly aggressive dragon, a bit on the small side but makes up for it by having a tail full of spikes as long as your arm. I had to retrieve an egg from a nesting mother, last year, well the last year I remember. I came pretty close to being impaled but I made it out in one piece."

 

Rin openly gaped at her "First off, holy crap dragons are real?!"

 

Rin squeed with happiness at Harry's assenting nod.

 

"Secondly, you are a total badass! If Yukio doesn't get his crap together can you be my familiar!?"

 

At this Harry cracked up, laughing until small tears were gathered in the corners of her eyes. 

 

"Rin, you are the kindest person I have ever met. This has been a total mind fuck. To be honest I am trying my best to not think about things too much and just go with the flow."

 

Looking serious Rin scooted forward until he could throw an arm around Harry's shoulders. "It will be ok, I promise."

 

"Thank you Rin." Harry smiled at his ernest demeanor. "Yukio is lucky to have a brother like you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said once a week updates but I'm an impatient reader, and apparently I'm equally impatient as an author.
> 
> Also, I'm being lazy this morning and reluctant to get out of bed. I couldn't fall back to sleep so I decided to be semi productive.
> 
> Rin's such a cinnamon roll, I just wanna squish his cute little face!


	3. Yukio's Adventure in WTF Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio is abducted for a strategic meeting and fails to adapt.

 

Yukio glanced at his phone and was happy to see that it was still fairly early in the day. His plan to cloister himself in the smallest briefing room had been a stroke of genius and he was caught up on all of his work.

 

Stretching in his chair he checked his text messages. "Nothing from Nii-san, he must still be asleep." If he timed it right he should be able to sneak in a cat nap before Rin's stomach woke him up. 

 

It was impossible for him to sleep once Nii-san was up for the day, Yukio was physically incapable of relaxing while Rin could be potentially destroying stuff, thus the need for a sleep aid the night before. Looking after him was like looking after an overlarge toddler; it was easy to appreciate his genuine enthusiasm for things but sometimes Yukio wished that Rin came with an off button.

 

With one last back cracking move and the thought "I feel like I'm 50, not 15." Yukio packed his paperwork away. Stepping out of the briefing room he smoothly joined the flow of black coated personnel who were leaving for lunch.

 

"Okumura-kun! One moment of your time please!" 

 

Yukio froze. 

 

Mephisto Pheles, Honorary Knight, Director of the Tokyo branch of The True Cross Order, Headmaster of True Cross Academy and all around eccentric pain in the ass was waving his rediculous pink umbrella from across the crowded atrium.

 

His blinding white suit with lavender and pink accents was made all the more garish by the relative lack of surrounding color. Yukio swore silently to himself as it became apparent that he would never get a nap in and detoured in his direction.

 

"Yes Sir, how can I help you?" 

 

"You can grace me with your presence for tea, I feel a little celebration is in order!"

 

Yukio adjusted his glasses to stall for time and tried to think of an excuse to avoid suffering through quality time with Sir Pheles.

 

"I really should check in on Nii-san and make sure he eats lunch."

 

"Nonsense! That is a job for Ukobach." Sir Pheles dramatically swept Yukio into his side with rib creaking force. 

 

"Otouto can manage just fine while I spend some time with my littlest Otouto." He playfully ruffled Yukio's hair while Yukio was busy having an internal meltdown.

 

Yukio, passively allowed Mephisto to steer him through the lobby and into the bright sunshine. Blinking uncomprehendingly he was shoved into the back of a candy pink limousine with Mephisto following him closely. The door snapped shut and the vehicle accelerated suddenly throwing Yukio unceremoniously back onto the bench seat between Mephisto and the door.

 

Blithely ignoring the effect of physics on a lesser being Mephisto cheerfully teased Yukio. "I am in the mood for something......exotic that requires a bit of a drive. Despite the fact that you are wearing your uniform, quite dashingly I might add. I know you are not on call today so don't even *think* about about making excuses as I have decided to monopolize your time."

 

"Otouto?" Yukio's voice cracked slightly on the word and he swallowed dryly before anger gave him the strength to finish his thought.

 

"You have known me, seen me at least once a month for the last eight years and just *now* you are calling me Otouto?!"

 

Mephisto smiled incongruously over the icecream scoop handle of his umbrella before he spoke in soft but menacing voice.

 

"I have known you since you drew your first breath, that I did not acknowledge you as family before was because you were weak, the runt of the litter if you will. Normally such offspring are disposed of accordingly but Shiro-chan was determined to save both of Yuri-chan's progeny. In my defense there was no indication that you would ever become more than a puleing human brat."

 

Ever mercurial, Mephisto adopted a sweetly wistful tone as he clutched his chest dramatically. "But it turns out Otōsama had the right idea when he courted sweet Yuri, her genetic contribution has yielded unexpected fruit."

 

Yukio's mind was spinning, there was so much he wanted to ask, so much he wanted to say, but he couldn't seem to latch on to any one thought long enough to be articulate.

 

The conflicting sensation of wanting to sob helplessly in the comfort of someone's embrace while simultaneously wanting to punch Mephesto's smug face until it was broken and bloody left him quivering and short of breath.

 

"No, not now." Yukio thought to himself "I cannot break down now, this is a test."

 

He drew a shuddering breath, looked Mephisto in the eyes and as nonchalantly as possible asked "What are we having for tea?"

 

"Marvelous!" Mephisto laughed "Yes! I can see it, how much you want to rip my throat out and watch my blood pool beneath me as I struggle for breath." He winked "Quite a vivid imagination you have there littlest Otouto!"

 

With a flick of his fingers a picnic basket proofed into existence in a cloud of mauve smoke.

 

"I had Ukobach prepare us something light, you shouldn't have too much trouble choking it down along with everything else Otouto-chan."

 

Yukio flushed with rage but his impending tirade was stymied as the limousine came to a stop. Mephisto thumped his ever present umbrella against the floor three times. Gesturing for Yukio to go ahead, Mephisto picked up the picnic basket in his off hand and followed Yukio out of the vehicle.

 

"It's blue! Why is the grass blue?" Yukio's hard won composure shattered, he stood gasping and curling his nails into the palm of his hands. The sky, he noticed somewhat hysterically, was a lovely shade of lavender.

 

"Where the hell are we!"

 

"Precisely. My how astute of you, you really are as smart as everyone says." Mephisto stepped lightly, swinging the picnic basket back and forth opposing his umbrella which was doubling as a walking stick.

 

"So this is Gehenna?"

 

Mephisto hmm'd thoughtfully.

 

"Gehenna, yes, a sliver of it anyway, just a small taste of something otherwise vastly incomprehensible. This section is quite stable, no need to worry about your human brain leaking from your ears."

 

Mephisto approached a hedgerow, or something that would be considered a hedgerow if hedgerows were planted with twelve foot tall salmon pink shrubberies.

 

Yukio made an abortive motion towards the relative safety of the limousine and then thought better of it. Jogging briefly he caught up with Mephisto just in time to see him disappear through a small gap in the plant wall. Striding forward he caught up quickly and was careful to stay close to his host.

 

"Please follow my lead during tea littlest Ototou. I am not so gauche as to ask for your trust, but take heart from the fact that I plan to take this opportunity to introduce you to the bigger picture and hopefully recruit another player to our cause. It is imperative that you allow me to be in charge of our discourse without contest."

 

"Our cause?"

 

"We both have a vested interest in the well being of Rin-chan do we not?"

 

Catching sight of the skeptical look Yukio shot him he continued talking while while leading the way through what appeared to be an elaborate garden maze.

 

"While it is true that I am not exactly the poster child for filial piety, I do care for family in my own way. I hope that soon you will begin to understand how and why, but for now it is enough for you to know that I am taking steps to ensure that Rin-chan has a future."

 

"A future as a demon you mean!"

 

Mephisto sneered at Yukio's heated words.

 

"Firstly, quit being so specist, there is nothing inherently wrong with being a non human. Secondly, I find that generally speaking, the state of being alive is preferable to being dead. Thirdly, you are not as human as you think you are and Rin never was to begin with. What he was before, when his powers were mostly sealed, was a comfortable lie. An illusion if you will to hide him from those that would manipulate and ruin him."

 

Yukio abashedly found himself agreeing with Mephisto's words more than just a little as he wondered at his own seemingly misplaced values.

 

Abruptly they ran out of hedges and came to an open, and thankfully green, grassy clearing surrounded on three side with sprawling well maintained beds of plant life as far as the eye could see.

 

"Where would you like to eat?" Mephisto asked Yukio politely.

 

"Over by that tree."

 

Yukio waved vaguely off to the left, thinking that lavender sky or not a sunburn was the last thing he needed to deal with. Hopefully the shade from the tree would keep him from getting fried to a crisp. Mephisto veered to the left and a few short minutes later was handing Yukio a large silk white and pink polka dot blanket which looked suspiciously like it began life as his ascot.

 

While Yukio struggled to spread the slippery material out on the grass, Mephisto opened his umbrella and set it to hover over them for shade. Yukio was startled to realize the umbrella was a galatea; in it's demon form it looked vaguely bat like. It's body and wings were the exact color and texture of the patched roof of the umbrella while the ice cream scoop handle was actually the demon's tail.

 

That Mephisto was able to casually handle the umbrella the way he did without fear of retribution was a testament to how ridiculously powerful he was. Yukio shivered while Mephisto observed his unease with no little amusement. "Sit Yukio-chan, I will set out our tea."

 

Mephisto opened the basket and began pulling a disproportionate amount of tea things from its weedy depths. Yukio goggled at the three tier cake stand, various colorful jars and ribbon festooned bakery boxes. Also from the basket came an assortment of tea cups and saucers all with different, presumably limited edition, anime character patterns, three plates, three sets of chopsticks and a massive silver tea pot that intermittently belched fragrant steam.

 

Yukio wasn't sure what to say in such fantastic circumstances so he settled for the mundane.

 

"Why are there three plates?"

 

"Remember, we are here to recruit. I am expecting our guest to arrive any moment, after all, this is his garden and he knows everything that is in it at all times."

 

"Who exactly is coming?"

 

"Hush, he is almost here, remember follow my lead."

 

Yukio noticed a humanoid figure walking towards them. As it got closer he could make out bright green hair styled into a single gravity defying spike. The male figure, or what he assumed was male, was dressed just as eclectically as Mephisto generally dressed, albeit with a different color scheme.

 

While Mephisto seemed to prefer every shade of red and purple from the palest pinks to the deepest amethyst the figure that was rapidly approaching was draped in the rusty maroon of dried blood with tarnished gold accents. As he came closer Yukio was able to pick out dark green stockings and sleeves which complimented the new comer's hair.

 

"Anuie." The figure called out sedately in greeting as he approached.

 

"Amaimon-chan! How good of you to come along! Will you join us for tea?"

 

"Who's the weakling?"

 

"Ah yes, allow me to introduce our youngest Otouto Yukio-chan. Yukio-chan this is your Oniisan Amaimon-chan, King of Earth."

 

Yukio shoved down the clamoring panic that had been clawing at his insides since Mephisto essentially abducted him and offered Amaimon a polite bow.

 

"Oniisan" He said in greeting.

 

Amaimon casually reclined on the blanket while giving Yukio an oddly blank faced look.

 

"That's right, I get to be Oniisan now that I'm no longer the youngest. How nice. What did you bring to eat."

 

"Ah, I have a selection of biscuits, cakes and fruit."

 

"What about my candy?"

 

Mephisto chuckled "Yes you insatiable monster, I also brought an assortment of suckers for afters."

 

Amaimon's stoic blank faced expression didn't shift but Yukio still got the impression that he was pleased.

 

Mephisto served the tea and they nibbled their food in companionable silence.

 

Yukio tried his best to relax but he still startled when Amaimon addressed him directly. "Yukio-chan, Anuie has been telling me some interesting stories about Otōsama's blue flames manifesting in Assiah and Otōsama has been very angry about something having to do with it."

 

Yukio wasn't sure how to respond to the implied question but Mephisto covered his hesitation by smoothly interjecting on his behalf.

 

"Of course Amaimon-chan, that is why we are here! We felt that you should hear directly from us regarding our dear Otouto Rin-chan. Yukio-chan is Rin-chan's younger twin and Yukio-chan has been charged with maintaining Rin-chan's safety."

 

Amaimon leaned back chewing thoughtfully "That doesn't seem right, shouldn't Rin-chan protect Yukio-chan like you protect me?"

 

"Normally I would say yes, but consider that our Otouto Rin-chan is a demon living in the human world and while Yukio-chan is our Otōsama's son he is the most human of all of us. It would stand to reason that Yukio-chan would be better positioned to protect Rin-chan from a human threat."

 

"Yes, but why not bring him to Gehenna then, eliminate the humans from the situation?"

 

"You know how Otōsama gets."

 

Amaimon flinched and his mouth turned down ever so slightly.

 

"Yes, I know how Otōsama gets."

 

"It really is for the best that he stay far away from Otōsama, we can't keep him hidden any longer so now our only option is to make him untouchable by anyone in Assiah."

 

"Yes, he will need to be strong, I will help with that."

 

Mephisto delightedly clapped his hands "So we have an accord, marvelous." He fished around in his pocket and produced an elaborate skeleton key that actually resembled a skeleton.

 

"Amaimon-chan, take this and do not lose it! I will allow you a window of opportunity to go sightseeing but I expect you to check in with me soon."

 

Amaimon took the key and looked it over before sliding it into his coat pocket. He held out his hands in supplication and was rewarded with a bulging sack of candy.

 

"I look forward to seeing you again soon Otouto." He said bowing slightly "Perhaps next time we can play, good day." and before Yukio could formulate even a rote response Amaimon left, a barely visible green blur jumping from tree to tree.

 

"Ah, youth." Mephisto sighed wistfully.

 

"What just happened?" Yukio asked plaintively.

 

"Ah, you were marvelous littlest Otouto. Our dear Amaimon-chan has agreed to help us train Rin-chan so that he can learn to wield his powers with precision. It will be hard to straddle the line but I believe as long as we can prove that Rin-chan is in control of himself and is an invaluable weapon in the hands of the exorcists of the True Cross then we can prevent his almost certain execution."

 

"What!? I thought he would be allowed to live as long as he didn't use his flames!"

 

"Yukio-chan, consider what you know of Rin-chan and tell me honestly, do you think he can hold any part of himself back when he inevitably rushes in to be the white knight."

 

"Oh god." Yukio buried his face in his hands "You are right, I'm gonna loose him too. Just like I lost Tou-san, it's only a matter of time."

 

No matter how hard he tried Yukio couldn't hold back the tears that had been lurking beneath his anger and fatigue. He sobbed silently, the way that person cries when they know deep down that there is absolutely no one to make it better.

 

"Here, use this." Mephisto held out the once again cravat size white and pink polka dot fabric for Yukio to wipe his face with.

 

"As a demon I generally enjoy watching others tie themselves up in their suffering but here and now, I find no satisfaction in your tears. Shiro-chan was....almost a brother, and certainly someone I wish was still alive. I see much of him in Rin-chan and in you. I have plans for both of you. I cannot share them with you in detail and I cannot guarantee that all will be well, but I can tell you I will do my best on your behalf."

 

Standing he gave Yukio a hand up and vanished the remnants of their picnic tea in a glittery mauve cloud.

 

They walked silently back to the pink mockery of a hedgerow and Yukio observed the invsible line where the green grass gave way to silvery blues. Looking up he noticed the sky was now a deeper almost crystalline purple with no indication of a sun, just a generalized omnidirectional glow and wondered about the quality of the light and the different pigmentation of presumably photosynthesizeing organisms. He was reminded of symbiotic plant and bacterial growth like rhizobia which enable soybeans to flourish in poor soil. He wondered if anything he knew about Assiah was relevant to Genenna at all.

 

Yukio absently spoke his thoughts out loud.

 

"It's sort of pretty actually, I mean at least from what I can see; very different from home but still interesting to look at."

 

Mephisto gave Yukio a small smile.

 

"Yes, I always quite liked this region. I find it soothing in a pastoral way. Of course I couldn't live here full time, I would get terribly bored, but it suits Amaimon-chan just fine as he is nearly perpetually bored no matter where he is."

 

Yukio grimaced at his own awkwardness. "I don't know that I would want to live here either but it was nice to see it at least once, so I guess I am saying thank you?"

 

Mephisto laid one finger along his nose and with a sly glance solemnly stated. "Don't worry, your secret love for Gehenna is safe with me."

 

Yukio spluttered denials while Mephisto cackled the rest of the way back to the limousine.

 

They were nearly back to True Cross Academy when Mephisto brought up the one topic that Yukio had tried to forget.

 

"Oh yes, I also meant to congratulate you on your new familiar but we got sidetracked taking care of necessities."

 

"Oh, you heard about that." Yukio said weakly.

 

Mephisto gve him a stern look. 

 

"My dear Otouto, that is quite an accomplishment! It is nearly unheard of for an exorcist to suddenly gain the ability to summon a familiar as the trait is linked to having dormant demonic ability and is usually inherited. I would hazard to say that you are no longer only human. Also, scuttlebutt around the water cooler is that your familiar is a very powerful manifestation from the kingdom of Spirit or Time."

 

"Personally I am rooting for the latter, just a matter of having a preference for one's own team you understand. Of course I expect you to be diligent in completing Neuhaus Sensei's weekend assignment and the next time I see you I expect an introduction. Ta for now!"

 

Yukio was abruptly shoved out of the limousine door, almost before it came to a stop. Before he could protest the rough treatment his briefcase was thrown into his arms and the limousine was pulling away.

 

"Absolute madness." Yukio muttered to himself as he stared after the rapidly diminishing blur of pink.

 

Turning around he nearly dropped his suitcase. Mephisto had left him in front of the building housing the exorcist help desk. After all that had happened Yukio still had to walk home to the dorm.

 

Numb from too many emotional shocks in too short a time, Yukio focused on putting one foot in front of the other and tuning out the buzzing of the thoughts swarming in his head.

 

"Fuck my life." was the one thought that he just couldn't ignore.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We are all mad here!" said the cat, who was actually Mephisto. What? Did you think he only had one animal form?! Fufufu how ignorant!


	4. The First Rule of Fight Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio paradoxically gets dirty in the shower

"Well I think that just about does it; any books that are still on the floor are duplicates and can go back in the bag."

 

Harry wiped her hands off on her borrowed sweatpants and began sorting through the pile of mismatched clothes they had pulled from the bag so she could clear off her bed.

 

"Do you mind if I borrow a few of these." Rin hefted a small stack of books.

 

"I suppose that fine, all the books that are inherently dangerous are secured, just promise me that you will ask before trying out any spells."

 

"I can do that, better safe than sorry. What do you want to do with all these odds and ends."

 

"Most of those devices are enchanted to identify threats and create barriers with specific properties. Go ahead and leave them out as decoration for now."

 

Rin nodded and began setting things up neatly wherever there was room amidst the floor to ceiling book shelves.

 

With the last robe hung up and smaller items put away in drawers, Harry idly fanned herself with blank bit of parchment and took in the suprisingly nice room. "Ugh, I feel gross and sweaty. Since we are pretty much done here do you mind if I get a shower?"

 

"Go ahead, but give me a moment." Rin popped over to his room and returned with his arms full.

 

"Here use these until we can buy your own." Rin passed over his shower caddy and a few towels.

 

Despite having packed nearly the entirety of the Black library and not a few books that were certainly nicked from Hogwarts, a veritable fortress of a tent, cooking equipment, siege weapons (a deconstructed trebuchet, why Hermione, why?), enough muggle and wizarding clothes to have a decent start on a wardrobe and enough medical equipment to run a small field hospital, Harry was surprized to find that Hermione hadn't packed much in the way of hygiene supplies.

 

"Thanks! There is plenty of soap with the medical supplies but funny enough it all smells medicinal."

 

Rin laughed "Yeah, don't worry. My stuff doesn't have a strong smell, that would drive me down the wall having a sensitive nose and all."

 

"I think you mean 'drive you up the wall'."

 

"That's what I said, anyway, shoo, go get clean. I'm gonna finish straightening up and getting the extra books put back in the bag."

 

"Ok, I'm going, thanks Rin."

 

 

 

*********************************

 

Yukio trudged up to the door of the dorm and belatedly thought about using his cram school key to get a bit closer instead of walking all the way from the help desk. "Arrrrrgh!" Yukio made an inarticulate sound of rage and gripped the bridge of his nose under his glasses with one hand.

 

"It's too late to be upset about it now, I'm already home. I should just remember that for the next time Mephisto abducts me. Now that's a disturbing thought, aaaaand I'm talking, out loud, to myself. That's it, all the crazy has rubbed off on me and I have cracked."

 

Yukio thumped his head against the locked door and felt a warning tingle from the anti demon wards.

 

"Un-fucking-believable." He slotted his key into the lock and opened the door making sure to lock it behind him.

 

He walked up the stairs and into his room, a silent cloud of misery. On the plus side it looked like Rin cleaned up. All his blankets were folded, his dirty clothes were out of sight and lo and behold, there were actual books on his desk. For a moment Yukio wondered where Rin was and then he noticed the missing shower caddy.

 

"Ah, that is a good idea, I wonder if Rin prepared the bath." Yukio unlaced his boots and shucked his uniform unceremoniously. Grabbing his shower caddy and a towel he headed towards the bathroom.

 

 

 

******************************

 

 

 

Rin got sidetracked from organizing by the copy of Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them he borrowed from Harry. It had a very convenient auto translate feature and while it was mostly a picture based book, the pictures moved like they were semi sentient which was cool as fuck. Having the text in a combination of Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana meant that for the first time ever he was studying of his on volition.

 

Strangely enough he was really enjoying the book. It looked like it was meant to be a field guide as the book was slim enough to be held in one hand, but despite it's compact size it had a seemingly endless number of pages. 

 

Flipping to the section on a creature called a crumple horned snorkack Rin found a hand drawn note card with beautiful alien looking flowers wedged firmly between the pages. The only words he recognized on it were 'Hermione", 'Luna' and 'Friend'." 

 

He recognized the former because he had seen seemingly endless iterations of it on bookplates and finally asked Harry about it.

 

He recognized the latter two because of Yukio.

 

As hopeless as Rin was at studying he had a good memory, he just didn't always remember the things he wanted to. Yukio was good at helping Rin retain the bits he wanted to remember but Yukio had so little time now a days he really couldn't tutor Rin like he used to.

 

Rin carefully placed the card back and flipped to the front of the book looking for the author' info. The book was pretty open minded about the classification of magical creatures and beings, and anyone who made a book like this had to be cool dude.

 

He didn't find a bio but he did find the author's name, a Scamander Newt, and brief instructions for operating the self update feature in the book. Rin traced the runes on the page with his finger the way the directions described and smiled when the book flashed gold for a second. 

 

Flipping back through the pages Rin was captivated by the new content. He was surprised to recognize several classifications of demons and was curious as to why they weren't identified as such in the text. "A cultural difference in perspective?" he wondered out loud and shrugged.

 

Rin turned back to where he left off, landing on a picture of a cat like creature with two tails and small ridged horns. As Rin moved his finger the cat tracked it and tried to pounce on it. Laughing he led the cat all over the page until it finally gave up and flopped over purring. Rin carefully ran his finger down it's ink and paper back and like a real cat it leaned into his touch. 

 

Rin smiled, he always wanted a cat or a dog but living in the monastery made it impossible to keep pets, but that didn't stop him from trying when he was a kid. The old man would pitch a fit and then bust his ass to find Rin's newest acquisition a "forever" home.

 

Lost in thought and not noticing the small ink cat trying to bump his fingers Rin was startled by a noise in the hallway. "Oh, Yukio must be home." He regretfully closed the book and grabbed the other books he was borrowing. He made it out of Harry's room and into his own.

 

Walking in he expected to see Yukio hunched over his desk but when he saw the pile of uniform clothes on the floor and a missing shower caddy his stomach dropped. "Oh no!"

 

He threw the books on his sleeping platform and ran down the hall hoping to head Yukio off.

 

No such luck, he made it all the way to the bathroom door before he could make out angry muffled sounds. Kicking the door open he found himself in the middle of a naked brawl.

 

"Rin! Go grab my holster! I have been running through arias but they don't seem to have any effect on this succubus!" Yukio was struggling to keep Harry pinned down.

 

"Succubus?! See here you prick! YOU are the one who jumped ME in the shower! I was minding my own business!" Harry managed to gain some leverage and got Yukio's arm behind his back.

 

"Don't give me that innocent crap! There are anti demon wards on this building so who let you in? Was it Mephisto?! You can tell him to fuck off with his head games, this is just too much!" Yukio, using his greater hight twisted around and got his arm under Harry's boobs lifting her off her feet.

 

"Mep-fucking who? Mate you are crazy! Fucking put me down or I swear I will fucking stab you!"

 

"Woah!" Rin, alarmed by the escalating violence did the most expedient thing and kicked Yukio's feet out from under him. He went down like a sack of bricks dragging Harry down with him.

 

Winded and shocked Yukio stayed down while Rin helped Harry to her feet.

 

"You ok?" He asked as he handed Harry his t-shirt.

 

"No I am bloody well not!" Harry pulled the garment over her wet hair and angrily pulled the hem down over her ass.

 

Rin surveyed the destruction; clothes and hygiene supplies were strewn across the room. The shower heads were broken and the water on the floor had rendered everything a sloppy wet mess. There was a noticeable dent in the side of the row of lockers and there was a wet towel caught on a open locker door.

 

Rin pulled the towel down, taking the locker door with it.

 

"You really fucked up the bathroom guys." He threw the wet towel at Yukio. "Cover up, there is a lady present."

 

Spluttering and wheezing Yukio scrambled to his feet securing the towel around his waist.

 

"You, you had a girl over! Is that what you are doing while I'm working, bringing girls home behind my back?! I'm busy trying to keep a roof over our heads, trying to find a way to keep you safe and you pull a stunt like this!? What would Tou-san say!?"

 

Rin jerked like he had been shocked.

 

"I DON'T KNOW! I don't know what the old man would say, or do, or think! He's dead and he died before I had a chance to find out what he thought of me as a demon. All I know is that he called me his son and lied to me about everything else at the same time so how am I supposed to know anything!?"

 

"And what about you Yukio, what the fuck are you doing!? You walk in on a pretty girl in the shower and think 'well this is nice, I should beat her up and interrogate her', who the fuck does that!?"

 

"Grow the fuck up Rin! I came home to find a potential hostile in our home and I took steps to eliminate the threat. Unlike you I don't think with my dick!"

 

"You think I am so stupid I would let just anyone waltz right in, you don't think I can tell for myself the difference between good and bad people?"

 

"It's not that fucking simple! You have HIS flames Rin, you don't think everyone and everything is out to get you but they are! They are coming for you and the last thing you need is to knock up some girl and potentially drag another innocent life into this mess!"

 

"Another innocent life, you mean like how I was dragged into this shit to begin with! I knew nothing Yukio, nothing about anything! Everything I thought I knew about you and Tou-san was blown sky high!"

 

"I'm not sure of anything anymore! Are we even really twins? Hell it's not like we look alike or anything. Maybe that's another lie that I just haven't found out about yet. You got anything you want to tell me, speak now because I swear to god if I find out you have been lying to me again I'm fucking done with you!"

 

Rin stared Yukio down until Yukio dropped his gaze.

 

"Yes fine. We need to talk, today was absolutely insane and I apologize for loosing my shit with...."

 

"Harry, her name is Harry."

 

"Harry-san, will you accept my apology for the altercation." Yukio gave a shallow bow in her direction, his body language saying 'sorry, not sorry'.

 

Harry sighed. "I suppose this was all a big misunderstanding and I should be the bigger person. But I warn you now, attack me like that ever again and I won't hold back. They will be picking pieces of you out of the ceiling tiles."

 

Yukio's expression shifted from incredulous to angry but before he had a chance to retort Rin stopped him.

 

"Don't, just say thank you and let's get changed for dinner. I'm sure everyone is hungry."

 

Yukio gave Harry a stiff nod. "Thank you."

 

Harry grinned in a way that was more threatening than kind and gestured for him to lead the way. Glancing at Rin he realized Rin was also waiting for him to take the lead. Yukio grit his teeth and walked ahead enduring the uncomfortable sensation of being without a weapon with a potential enemy at his back.

 

At Harry's door Rin paused to confirm that they would let her know when they were heading down to the kitchen. Yukio gaped at the exchange.

 

As soon as they were in their room with the door shut Yukio turned on Rin.

 

"She has her own room!? What the fuck Rin!?"

 

Rin gave Yukio a strange look. "Well yeah, I didn't think you would want her rooming with us."

 

"Of course!" Yukio's voice dropped into a hiss "But that doesn't explain why she has her own room!"

 

"Look, you weren't here to ask so I made a judgment call."

 

"You....made a....judgement call...." 

 

"Besides, you are just trying to change the subject. You told me you had something to talk about so talk, and no lies. Stop trying to keep me safe by keeping me in the dark. Because obviously that doesn't work. I need to know what is going on."

 

"You need to know what's going on, well, Mephisto is our Oniisan, which means he is a Baal, a king of hell, which is surprising. 

 

I mean I always knew he was a demon, that's a bit obvious but to find that he is a hell king makes the tension between him and the Vatican make a lot more sense, but then why did Tou-san want him to be our guardian? Why would the demon king of space and time, I'm assuming that he is the king of space and time because he mentioned demons from that kingdom being on "the same team" or something like that, why would he actually care!? 

 

He took me out for a picnic tea in Gehenna, or at least a portion of it and did you know the sky is purple? So that makes me wonder if that is why Mephisto likes purple so much, perhaps he isn't that tacky he just really likes the sky he remembers from home and I like the color blue for the same reason. 

 

Our other Oniisan, Amaimon, who is the demon king of Earth, says he wants to help but I think I trust him less than Mephisto and I don't trust him at all. The Vatican is going to find a reason to kill you even if they have to make something up so we have to find a way for you to be more valuable to them than you are dangerous. Because you could be a potential vessel for Satan in Assiah I don't even know of anything more dangerous than you, but if you become completely demonic can you even be possessed? 

 

Can a demon possess another demon? I want to ask Mephisto but I am afraid of how he might use that information if he hasn't already thought of it.........Oh god Rin, I don't want to lose you, I don't want you to leave me but I promised Tou-san I would keep you safe and if you have to go into hiding where I don't even know where you are then it's worth it....." Yukio trailed off looking at the floor and trying to ignore the tears gathering in his eyes.

 

"What!? Mephisto is demon?!!"

 

Yukio's tenuous hold on his compoure broke. He began laughing hysterically while tears rolled down his face. 

 

"You! Rin! That's all you got from what I said."

 

"Well, I heard everything you said but I am a little surprised that clown is a demon."

 

"Surprised!? It is obvious! It's the most poorly kept secret in the order! He's been in the order for 200 years, he turns into a dog at will and conjures anything and everything that he wants on a whim! Not to mention the fangs and the claws!"

 

"How was I supposed to know that?! Magic humans do exist you know! He has really eclectic taste in clothes some people like fangs and sharp nails, they look cool. Besides, I have never seen him with his tail out so are you sure?"

 

Yukio laughed harder "Look idiot, if you had done your homework you would know that a demon's tail is vulnerable. It is a sensitive organ and no demon with any common sense would leave his tail hanging out."

 

"Really, it doesn't seem all that special."

 

Swallowing his laughter and slightly hiccupping Yukio reached out and pulled a confused Rin into a loose embrace. Reaching down he ran his hand gently along the length of Rin's tail, tugging lightly before letting the silky tuft of hair slip through his fingers.

 

Stepping back he observed Rin, red faced, sweaty and shaking, an obvious bulge in his shorts.

 

Rin coughed and adjusted himself self consciously "That was, umm, something, wow, umm ok."

 

"Do you understand now? Imagine someone touching it violently."

 

Rin winced "Hide the demon dick when in public, got it."

 

Yukio laughed and shook his head "It's not like that, it's just sensitive."

 

"Sure whatever you say, not like it isn't attached to my body."

 

Yukio blushed "Sorry, let me get dressed and we can talk some more over dinner."

 

"Yeah, I gotta get a new shirt on anyway."

 

A few minutes later Rin was knocking on Harry's door and asking her if she was ready.

 

The three of them trooped silently down to the kitchen, Yukio trying in vain to keep Harry in his line of sight while Harry was just as stubbornly insisting on following him.

 

Rin rolled his eyes at the subtle animosity but all that was pushed to the back of his mind by the smell of good cooking.

 

"Ukobach, you are the man! Whatever you are making smells amazing!"

 

"I figured it was a celebratory dinner so I made you your favorites!"

 

"Sukiyaki! Yeah!"

 

"And a selection of sashimi for Yukio and syrup melonpan for dessert for Harry!"

 

Yukio stopped and looked wildly between Rin and Ukobach "You can talk? I mean of course you can talk , Rin talks to you all the time, but I can understand you...." he sat down heavily "Why can I understand you." he whined.

 

"It's probably the same for Yukio as it is for me. I don't speak Japanese but I can understand what Yukio understands. He doesn't understand non humanoid demons but I do, so he is able to understand them through me."

 

Rin nodded "That makes sense, the familiar bond should be a two way connection."

 

"Familiar bond...." Yukio said weakly

 

"Well yeah, I know it's new and all but you haven't forgotten that you summoned a familiar yesterday have you?" Rin leaned forward with a concerned look on his face and poked Yukio in the forehead.

 

"Hmmmm doesn't feel soft but maybe you went down harder than I thought in the shower. Do you have a concussion or something?"

 

Yukio batted his hand away. "I am not concussed! I am confused! My summon was a a bipedal figure with snake skin, I didn't see much else because of the cloak but I am sure I would have remembered.....that!" He said gesturing at Harry.

 

Harry's expression darkened "Look here you berk, I am the demon you summoned as your familiar, get over it."

 

Rin gestured frantically at Yukio to stop, he could tell Yukio was about to say something incredibly insensitive.

 

"But you look totally human!"

 

Rin face faulted, too little too late.

 

Harry flushed with rage and her voice became harsh and sibilant. "I may look human but but that didn't save me from being bound and chucked into limbo for fifteen years. Apparently it's not a very human thing to take a killing blow and get up again." 

 

"My friends, my family, the people who I trusted, set me on this path and I had no choice but to see it through. I may look human to you but make no mistake, I'm demon enough to take advantage of your weakness to carve my sigil on your flesh as the price of my service. I am your familiar whether you like it or not because I am not going back to that fucking nothingness ever again!"

 

Yukio swallowed nervously and shakily stood. Backing up a few feet he took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Harry.

 

"My name is Okumura Yukio, I am humbled by your presence and honored that you have responded to my summons. I hope you find me acceptable and I hope our partnership can become a source of strength for us both. I apologize for my earlier rudeness, nothing has gone quite right for me the last couple of days and I find myself constantly wrong footed."

 

Yukio held his pose, shaking nervously.

 

Harry sighed "Your apology is accepted and to be honest I am the one who threw the first blow."

 

Yukio straightened and began to apologize further but Harry cut him off.

 

"No, I hurt you and I didn't ask or explain, I was desperate but that is no excuse for what I did. I won't take it back, I can't take it back, but I think if I had explained myself you would have accepted my sigil of your own free will and I am sorry for taking your choice from you."

 

Rin chimed in "And if Yukio didn't accept you I would have! You are a total bad ass!"

 

Yukio shuddered at the thought, Rin was already ridiculously overpowered.

 

"No, Harry is right. I would have chosen to take her sigil, it would have been the right thing to do but I do accept your apology. Thank you." looking down at his hands he asked softly "Can we start over?"

 

"Yeah, we can try again but it is obvious to me that we all need to work on communication. I'm telling you right now that if you try to hold things back or keep either me or Rin in the dark then we are going to have problems. I don't care what you say to everyone else, here you are completely transparent with us and we will do the same. Blunt force trauma honesty, agreed."

 

Yukio shifted awkwardly "Ukobach is Mephisto's familiar and is bound to report back to him, anything we say here won't just stay between us, he will hear it too."

 

"So what." Rin chimed in "According to you he's our Anuie and he's on our side."

 

"It's not that simple, he's the Headmaster of True Cross Academy and the Director of the Tokyo exorcist branch. He says he is trying to help us but he didn't give me any assurances, come to think of it, he doesn't expect us to trust him at all. He is sneaky, manipulative and has been pulling strings for longer than we have been alive, hell for all we know the fact that we were born is all part of some elaborate scheme of his."

 

"Yukio, it sounds like you won't be able to keep things from him in the first place. The more you try to hide the more he will dig to find what he is looking for. The best strategy is to hide in plain sight, give him so much information, so much minutiae that he will either appreciate the gesture and treat you fairly or get bored to death and quit prying into your personal life."

 

Rin laughed "Thanks Harry, that sounds pretty straight forward but is definitely sneaky."

 

"I didn't make it into Slytherin based on my social connections."

 

Rin brightened "Oh, is that the thing you were telling me where the hat that decides where you are going to live based on your personality."

 

Harry laughed "Something like that."

 

Yukio rubbed his face tiredly and adjusted his glasses. "Ok, that's fine. But only when it's us. I don't want any of the cram school students involved, it's too dangerous."

 

"All right, hey Ukobach I think we are ready to eat now." Rin patted the open space next to him "You want to join us?"

 

Ukobach brought out an extra bowl for himself and while they ate Yukio filled them all in on his insane day.

 

"This makes more sense the second time around." Rin said patting Yukio on the shoulder consolingly. "I am sorry you had such a shit day Otouto."

 

Yukio chuckled "Surprisingly I feel better after talking about it."

 

Harry snorted "Yes, the unexpected side effect of having people who care and are willing to shoulder the burden. No one person lives in a vacuum and if you close yourself off from everyone you lose perspective very quickly. Then your judgment becomes compromised and you make stupid decisions." 

 

She gestured to herself "It can be hard to come back from that without hitting rock bottom first, believe me, been there, done that."

 

Yukio took bite of his melonpan and chewed thoughtfully. "You aren't much older than Rin and I are you?"

 

"Biologically speaking, no. But you know as well as I do that there is no age restriction on suffering. My parents were murdered when I was a year old and a person, who later on manipulated me into becoming what I am now, placed me with my mother's sister and her nuclear family." 

 

"Aunt Petunia was angry at my mother for a number of reasons, some of which were actually valid, but she took her anger out on me. She kept me isolated, abused my trust, took advantage of my childish desire for acceptance and treated me as lower than the dirt on the ground. I was unloved and unlovable with no friends and the only family I knew openly told me I would be better off dead."

 

"It took me a while to realize that the path I was on was not one of my choosing, by then it was too late to make a difference. I became the martyr they made me into but in the long run but I was able to regain my sense of self. I realized that I was more than a tool or a weapon to be aimed and fired."

 

"Once I began doing things my way on my terms I felt a lot better, I had friends and began to think about the future. Of course, it all literally went to hell, but I still have the memories and hope, once obtained, is slow to fade."

 

Rin walked around the table to sit on the other side of Harry and pulled her into a sideways hug. "I am so sorry you went through that, but I am also so happy you are here."

 

"Thanks Rin." Harry took a sip of her tea to cover up her teary eyes while Ukobach began clearing their dessert plates.

 

Yukio folded his hand on the table and stared off into the middle space. "As long as I can remember I could always see them, demons, spirits, impossible creatures, and they could see me seeing them which seemed to get their interest. They would follow me around, fighting each other for my attention, but they were all so scary, I just wanted them to leave me alone."

 

"Ignoring them just made it worse; they started messing with me, picking and poking, pulling my hair. I was scared all the time that they would really hurt me one day. I didn't tell anyone, I was afraid they would think I was crazy. I think Rin knew something was going on because he always seemed to show up when they got out of control and were at their scariest, but Rin couldn't see them."

 

"Eventually Tou-san realized what was happening and he offered to teach me how to fight back. I was seven. I also learned that the reason why Rin couldn't see them was because his powers were sealed in a sword which acted like a barrier between him and all things demonic."

 

"I was very jealous for a long time; Rin got to be a normal kid and go through his day like it wasn't a life or death struggle. The monsters all ran away from him and I didn't know why! All I could think was that Rin was the special one who got everything he wanted and didn't care, while I had to work for everything."

 

"Tou-san swore me to secrecy about Rin's powers and told me that all the training I was doing was so that I could protect him. Rin would remain a clueless, normal human as long as the sword was never drawn from it's scabbard. Considering the seals on the sword and the place it was hidden, we all operated until the assumption that it would stay sealed forever."

 

"Then I left for school and came back to find Tou-san dead and Rin a demon, all my sacrifices didn't matter. I wasn't able to protect either of them when it mattered most. I was really angry with myself, am still really angry I suppose, but I think I am starting to see that it isn't Rin's fault and it isn't my fault either. I can't even really blame Tou-san and Anuie because as fucked up as everything is, I am grateful they didn't kill us as infants."

 

"I will always hate Satan for killing Tou-san but even so, I can't hate him for everything, after all, he and mother gave us life. I guess what I am saying is I am tired of being angry but that doesn't mean that I will take this crap laying down. I don't care about who we are reated to; this is our life, our world and I will fight to my last drop of blood to secure our place in it. We belong here dammit! Abominations or not, we belong!"

 

Yukio was startled when Harry leaned over, pulled him into her side and kissed his cheek. Rin silently came up from behind and embraced them both while Ukobach sniffled into his apron.

 

"You are growing up so fast younglings. This calls for a another special meal! How does a Sunday morning waffle bar brunch sound?"

 

"That would be amazing Ukobach!" Rin smiled hugely already planning his toppings.

 

Blushing Yukio retreated from Harry's hug "Mephisto said he wanted to meet you soon, do you want to get it out of the way tomorrow?"

 

"Don't bother, he'll be busy catching up on his anime tomorrow." Ukobach chirped "Just wait for a summons later in the week."

 

"What do you want to do in the meantime?" Yukio asked Harry

 

"I am your familiar so where you go, I go."

 

"I get called out to perform exorcisms pretty regularly but I also lecture demon pharmaceuticals for the cram school and cover in the clinic as an exorcist with medical training. I am also a full time student on a scholarship and I have to maintain an exceptionally high GPA so I can go to medical school. I think you would be bored to tears if you shadowed me all day."

 

"What do you think Rin?"

 

"You can always hang out with me if Yukio is doing something boring and we can see if Mephisto will let you enroll in the cram school at least. You can pass as human for the most part and it's not like you would be the only plant in the exorcist class."

 

Yukio took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. "Eh, what are you talking about Rin?"

 

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed hoodie and sock puppet?! There is no way they are normal students, and I have my suspicions about eyebrows as well!"

 

"Whatever Rin, just don't call them those names to their faces anywhere near me. I want to be outside the fall out zone if that happens."

 

"On that note, I'm beat." Harry yawned into her hand "Lets go to bed."

 

They shuffled upstairs and said their good nights in the hall.

 

Rin and Yukio got changed into their night things before getting comfortable in their respective beds.

 

"Oh man, Yukio, I totally forgot to ask Harry to fix the shower. If she doesn't think of it on her own remind me to ask her tomorrow."

 

"I will try to remember Nii-san. What all did you do today?"

 

"For the most part I helped Harry set up her room. Ask her to show you her book collection, it is amazing, the pictures move and everything."

 

"That sounds...different."

 

"Yeah, she's really cool. Also, you owe me."

 

"Oh really, in what way?"

 

"I have been getting to know Harry while you were working so basically I have been doing the assignment Neuhaus Sensei gave you! I will be happy to help you write up your report by filling in the details that you don't know." Rin smiled cheekily at Yukio from across the room.

 

"Sometimes I hate you Nii-san but then you redeem yourself by being unintentionally thoughtful."

 

"Hey! I take offense to that! It's not my fault that my good intentions blow up in my face."

 

"True. Also, thank you for leaving my briefcase out this morning, my day went to crap anyways but it was nice enough to almost make up for my undoubtedly bruised ribs."

 

"Oh, um, that wasn't me, Harry is the one who put your briefcase out where you would find it after she brought it home from the classroom."

 

There was a long silence while Rin fidgeted nervously wishing he just kept his mouth shut.

 

"Rin." Yukio began in a dangerous voice "If you just helped Harry set up her room today and she set out my suitcase this morning at at a ridiculously early hour, where exactly did she sleep last night?"

 

Rin mumbled something unintelligible into his pillow.

 

"Nii-san." Yukio said warningly.

 

"I said she slept with me."

 

"Nii-san!"

 

"What's the big deal, she asked and I wasn't going to tell her to sleep on the floor, nothing happened, we slept that's all!"

 

"It's just improper! What the hell!"

 

"Hey! I'm not the one who decided naked wrestling in the shower was a good idea, all I did was sleep with her, you the one who put your hand all over her...."

 

"Nii-san! Shut the hell up! You make me sound like I'm some kind of pervert!"

 

"What the hell do you think it sounds like when you talk to me like that, you make me sound like a pervert too, like I would ever take advantage of a situation like that, so you shut up!"

 

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" 

 

"Sorry."

 

"Yeah, sorry."

 

"Goodnight Rin."

 

"Goodnight Yukio."

 

"FOR FUCKS SAKE! GOODNIGHT MOON EACH OTHER SOME OTHER TIME AND GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP!"

 

In a small voice Yukio squeaked out a 'yes ma'am' while Rin rubbed his head and muttered quietly 'tch, how did she get so loud, my ears are still ringing.'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hey Yukio! Did you know that the first rule of fight club is "You do not talk about fight club?"
> 
> "That's nice Nii-san."
> 
> "The second rule of fight club is also "You do not talk about fight club."
> 
> "Mmmm hmm."
> 
> "The third rule of fight club is "You don't jump Harry in the shower, she will fuck you up."
> 
> "That was one time and it was an accident!"
> 
> "They once made a "Harry Potter" brand toilet paper, but it wouldn't take shit from anybody!"
> 
> "I'm trying to work Nii-san."
> 
> "Harry Potter grinds her coffee with her teeth and boils the water with her rage!"
> 
> "Ok that's enough."
> 
> "Harry Potter doesn't step on toes. Harry Potter steps on necks!"
> 
> "Nii-san please."
> 
> "Paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper, but Harry Potter beats all 3 at the same time!"
> 
> "SHUT UP RIN!"


	5. Through Dangers Untold And Hardships Unnumbered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio and Harry have a heart to heart that is taken to heart.

 

Yukio woke up with a startled yelp. He blinked his eyes rapidly, automatically trying to adjust to the strong sunlight coming in the window. Sunlight, crap! What time is it?!

 

Patting the bed near his pillow he couldn't find his phone. Shit! He must be running late! Yukio hopped up without extracting himself from his blankets, took two steps and tripped falling forward.

 

"Woah! Good thing I came upstairs to check on you!" Rin's better than human reflexes were the only thing that kept Yukio from face planting. 

 

Rin set Yukio upright and helped him untangle his feet. "Calm down Yuki, it's Sunday. I woke up before you so I took your phone and let you sleep in. Harry fixed the shower, she and I have been downstairs having tea with Ukobach so just come down whenever you are ready." 

 

Rin paused and grabbed Yukio's glasses off his desk. As he handed them over he took stock of his Otouto's physical state; the dusky smudges under his eyes spoke volumes. 

 

"Yuki, no energy drinks today. You are taking a day off."

 

"Nii-san, I have to prepare for the boot camp this week!"

 

"No, we aren't discussing this until after waffles and then you are going to let us help, no arguments, no excuses. You have been running yourself into the ground, let us us pick up some of the slack. Also, Harry has some ideas for getting my flames under control and she wants to discuss your abilities with you."

 

"My abilities?"

 

Rin shrugged "She didn't go into detail, just come down and we will go from there but don't take too long! We have been waiting for you and the waffles smell amazing."

 

With a cheerful whistle on his lips and a bounce in his step Rin headed back down to the kitchen.

 

Yukio sat heavily on his bed and rubbed his face with both hands. "Rin means well but this is harder than he thinks." 

 

Breathing deeply and slowly Yukio reeled in his blossoming anger and resentment. Sometimes he hated the person he had become; serious, driven, hopelessly addicted to caffeine and adrenaline for reasons that he couldn't even justify anymore. When it was just Tou-san and Yukio standing between Rin and the abyss, the sacrifice of his childhood had been worth it. Now that the veil had been so thoroughly pulled back that it was impossible to pretend the change hadn't happened; it all seemed like such a waste.

 

"What do I do now?" He wondered out loud.

 

"Well, you can start by eating breakfast." Yukio startled and nearly fell over. Wild-eyed he stared at Harry as she sat on the end of his bed with a massive silver tray hovering beside her.

 

"Levitation spell." She by way of explanation "I took pity on you and brought caffeinated tea. It's not as strong as that herbal energy drink crap Rin says you like but it should take the edge off."

 

"Thank you!" Yukio gave her a small bow and then grimaced sheepishly "Rin thinks he is doing me a favor but I literally cannot remember the last time I went without caffeine. I wasn't entirely certain I would make it out of bed."

 

"Well, now you don't have to worry." She let the tray settle down between them. 

 

"I brought my breakfast up so we could eat together. Ukobach and Rin are doing unspeakable things to the waffle iron at the moment." Harry shuddered in disgust "Some things just don't need to be made into waffles."

 

Yukio gave her a questioning look over the rim of his teacup.

 

"They were debating the merits of adding squid flakes to fried egg crunchy noodle waffles."

 

"I'm glad I didn't come down!" Yukio looked at the perfectly golden brown slices of heaven dusted with a fine layer of powdered sugar "It would be sacrilege to experiment with this."

 

"That's what I'm saying! I told them it was perfect but nooooo, can't tell those two anything, they get an idea and then boom they are trying to put everything in a waffle!"

 

Harry picked up a strip of waffle with her fingers and dunked it into a dish of cherry preserves. "Sorry for using my hands but I'm still trying to get the hang of chopsticks and I don't want to drop anything on your bed."

 

"It's fine." Yukio mumbled out between bites "I appreciate your consideration."

 

For several long minutes the only sounds were appreciative humming and contented chewing.

 

Setting aside his chopsticks Yukio took a sip of tea and cleared his throat. 

 

"Rin said something about you wanting to asses my abilities, what did you have in mind?"

 

Harry chewed thoughtfully before answering."I was holding back yesterday but you surprised me. You are 15 and training to be an exorcist but you still got the upper hand on me a few times." 

 

"I suppose I wasn't entirely clear last night when I mentioned I lecture at the cram school and go on exorcisms, that is my job, I became a fully qualified exorcist two years ago."

 

"Sorry, you were with the other students when you summoned me, so I assumed you were still a student as well."

 

"That's understandable, the teacher for magical seals, sigils and summoning had to step out of the class for a few minutes and asked me to supervise until he got back. I walked into the room to see the other students pressuring Rin into summoning and I panicked. I didn't realize I had cut myself on Rin's nails when I took the summoning papers away from him until the room got really cold and dark."

 

Harry winced. "Sorry about that, what you felt was something similar to a dementor's aura." 

 

"A what's aura?"

 

"They are literally soul sucking demons who feed on happy memories. They have the uncanny ability to track a specific individual by their soul or aura."

 

"I haven't encountered anything like that in person or in my studies but based on those abilities they sound like they would be subjects of the King of Time."

 

"That Mepphy bloke, your older brother?"

 

"I could be wrong but they sound like the sort of thing he would find useful."

 

"Your brother sounds like a piece of work. They are useful if you need to find someone and you don't care if their soul gets snacked on but they are still fucking awfully dangerous."

 

"The Ministry of Magic used them to track a convict who had escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison, presumably to kill one of my professors."

 

"Professor Snape thought the whole thing was rubbish, and in the long run it was, but we were out gathering potion ingredients when a one of the dementors went rogue and attacked the professor. I tried to run it off but it was persistent and I had to defend us with my sword. The sword absorbed some of the dementor's powers and I am able to make use of them."

 

"You are saying you can suck out someone's soul!?"

 

"Possibly."

 

Yukio gave her a disturbed look. 

 

"What!? It's not like I've tried that particular party trick!"

 

Yukio shook his head "I see why we needed to have this conversation, we really need to know what we are capable of individually so we can work together. I have two meisters, one as a dragoon, I specialize in dual pistols but am rated on every firearm in the True Cross Order inventory as well as some that aren't. I am also competent with ordinance such as grenades and other explosives, which reminds me we should test your resistance to holy water. I don't want you injured by friendly fire."

 

Harry nodded her assent as Yukio continued, "I also have a meister as a doctor but as far as medical training is concerned I am more like a field medic with a solid foundation in demon pharmaceuticals, which is why I lecture that subject in the cram school."

 

Harry gave a low whistle of appreciation "All that and you are only 15, I'm impressed!"

 

"That's not much, our Tou-san had all five meisters and was the Paladin, which is a title given to the strongest exorcist in the order."

 

"He sounds like he was a good role model for you guys."

 

Yukio laughed "Most people would disagree; before he was a Catholic priest he was a hard partying asshole who slept with anything that breathed. He smoked like a freight train and he told me once that he stole a very important religious artifact by literally crashing an invocation ceremony while sledding down a mountain pass on the corpse of a nuisance demon he killed."

 

"His old friends were appalled to find out that he was raising two kids; by then he had mellowed a lot but he was still a total bad ass who took shit from no one."

 

Harry smiled warmly "Again, I say he was a good role model for you both, sounds like he was an awesome dad."

 

"Yeah, he was." Yukio adjusted his glasses with one hand to give himself a moment to shove down his feelings. 

 

"Anyway, you will have to go with me to the range and then on a few exorcisms to get a better idea of what I can do. But how about you? What are your abilities?"

 

"With regards to magic it may be easier to say what I can't do as magic is a very broad skill set."

 

Harry's expression became slightly wan, "I only have four years of formal magical education under my belt but all four years were spent fighting in life or death situations.

 

"I was tutored by some of the greatest living wizards of our time and had the benefit of a best friend who took me under her wing. Hermione was an absolute genius and a hell of a taskmaster. So despite the fact that my time at school ended abruptly, I have been able to hold my own in some seriously dangerous situations through skill, natural ability and sheer dumb luck. I also have a massive library of magic books so if there is a spell or ability I am not well versed in I can easily brush up."

 

Yukio nodded, "Rin mentioned you had an exceptional library last night. I was surprised, I have never heard him actually get excited about books before."

 

Harry smiled softly. "Hermione was an exceptional witch with an exceptional library, I can't really take credit for the collection even though the Black library belongs to me and I definately funded her book obsession."

 

"Anyway, the scope of magical ability is tied to the strength of the caster. As magic is primarily an issue of imagination, emotion and willpower Hermione and I discovered that sufficient need coupled with raw power often trumps over exoteric skill. It is possible, for a powerful enough witch or wizard, to quite literally bend reality to suit their need. However, as I understand it the hard limits of magic are typically this; you cannot conjure food, make people fall in love or raise the dead."

 

"Wow, that is a very short list."

 

"And it gets even shorter. You used the word meister, I am assuming that word means 'a mastery over a skill?" Yukio nodded yes and Harry continued.

 

"I suppose you could say I have a meister in death magic, more specifically an affinity towards magic pertaining to and affecting the soul."

 

"Please understand that much of this is theoretical because there are taboos in society that shouldn't be violated. I'm not much into hurting innocents for the sake of research so Hermione put me through every ethical test she could think of. We discovered that I can't violate the exception to Gamp's law of elementary transfiguration to conjure food but I can draw energy, enough to sustain myself, from the ambient environment. It's very likely that I could do the same for someone else."

 

"I can't make two people fall in love but in theory I could entwine their souls to the point where something indistinguishable from love would be inevitable."

 

"I can't undo death but I can create a vessel and force a specific soul to inhabit it just as easily as I can animate a soulless corpse. Granted, I haven't tried any of this on a human but I should be able to force a soul to remain anchored to it's body even if it is mortally wounded. This would buy more time for the body to be repaired and resuscitated." 

 

Taking account of Yukio's wide eyed stare and subtle tremors Harry had the sinking feeling that she knew what Yukio was thinking of.

 

"I wish I had been able to come to you before when you first tried to summon a familiar, you were right to a certain extent with what you said on Friday. It is possible I could have saved your father, but we have to ask "at what cost?" All of those abilities, if used, could break the order of this world. It wouldn't seem like much, just a small change here and there, but anytime your are fucking with the direction of death, going against the grain of reality, it makes ripples. Too many ripples and they intersect each other like the wake from ships traveling through water; anything caught between them will get sucked down and torn apart."

 

Yukio took a shaky breath "Well, that's reassuring.... I think. You could perform miracles but don't because you might destroy the universe, and you are apparently against that?"

 

Harry shrugged "You either trust my judgment or you don't. I'm not going to give you empty platitudes to make you feel better, believe me when I say there are some barriers that should remain inviolate."

 

"Aside from my magical abillity I am also a goblin trained swordswoman. I am not a master but I am very good and can easily out fight most opponents. My sword is a magical artifact in it's own right; I cannot be disarmed as I can summon it at any time but I learned the hard way that I can be subdued."

 

Yukio waited patiently for Harry to continue, instead she sat contemplating her tea cup with a dark look on her face.

 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Yukio asked quietly.

 

Harry seemed like she was going to shake her head no but then paused and reconsidered.

 

"I suppose, given the circumstances you have as much of a right as anyone to know. Do you want the long version or the short version?"

 

"I am happy to listen to whatever you want to tell me."

 

"Right then, the thing you have to understand is where I come from it's a divided society, not much different from what you have here in the sense that there are people who know about demons and those who don't." 

 

"Instead of demons, the driving issue is magic; who has it, who doesn't and who knows. The majority of the population goes about their lives never knowing that there is an entire world of magical citizens hiding just under their noses. Most magical citizens are happy to peacefully coexist but like any society there are extremes on both ends. Some magical citizens believe that we should be fully open about our gift and share it with the world."

 

"That's painfully idealistic Harry. I have literally had people who were inches away from being eaten alive by a demon tell me they were perfectly fine and berate me for saving them. The human ability to ignore obvious danger is astounding."

 

"Personally I agree, but aside from the hopelessly idealistic there are those who go the complete opposite direction and see non magical persons as no better than chattel. Their opinions range from benign separation to extermination."

 

"Excuse me, do you mean they believe that non magical humans should be killed?"

 

"Some of the more radical ones, yes."

 

Yukio's countenance took on an angry cast but he kept his peace allowing Harry to continue.

 

"Every couple of decades or so, a wizard or a witch gains enough personal power and enough followers to go on a rampage. The so called Dark Lord or Lady, is a creature generally out for personal gain but they often piggyback on the issue of what to do regarding non magical humans to create their initial powerbase. I'm sure you can imagine where they fall, theoretically, on the issue."

 

"There aren't that many magical humans in one spot, so are we talking about a gang style turf war?"

 

"I wish it was that simple! Unfortunately hypocrisy runs deep and many Dark Lords have no issue with making use of muggles, that is non magical people, when it suits them."

 

"Grindelwald, for example, came very close to forcing all of magical Europe under one banner in the late 30's. He was defeated in single combat by my old headmaster and his muggle accomplices were unable to keep things together on their own."

 

"You mean that World War Two was carried out by a wizard?"

 

"Without magic it is very likely the war would have still carried on to some extent. I don't know how different things would have been without magical interference; finding unbiased, unredacted accounts of the actions of the participating magical governments is nearly impossible. After the fall of Grindelwald everyone scrambled to show they had been on the side of the resistance, records were destroyed, people went missing, and things fell through the cracks."

 

Harry paused to sip her tea, Yukio sensing her tension patted her knee encouragingly.

 

"When a new Dark Lord rose to power in the 70's in many ways he just picked up where the previous one left off. However he employed different tactics; instead of seizing political power directly he deployed a network of his faithful servants to infiltrate the government at all levels and used their influence to pull strings."

 

"He waged clandestine guerrilla warfare using neighbor against neighbor, child against parent. My parents grew up terrified and they decided to fight back. For the most part they were successful vigilantes but their actions made them targets. When I was born there was a prophecy about who would be destined to kill the Dark Lord and for various reasons, none of which were all that rational, he decided he would kill me and my parents for good measure. A year later he finally got to us through the betrayal of two of my parent's good friends."

 

"My father died first, I remember him yelling then silence. My mother shielded me and tried to beg for my life, he killed her and then he turned his wand on me. I didn't die, instead his curse backfired on him and his body was destroyed."

 

Harry held up a hand to stave off Yukio's questions "For years the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, insisted that it was my mothers sacrifice that shielded me from certain death. As lovely as that sounds, albeit in a slightly morbid way, he was absolutely wrong."

 

"The Dark Lord Voldemort, who's mundane name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, had done something unthinkable to secure his immortal soul to this physical plane. He created phylacteries, or as we call them, horcrux."

 

"When someone commits murder their soul is torn by all the potential the victim's life had, all that un realized future comes snapping back like an elastic and *bam*! A particularly evil asshole can then use that effect to shear off a bit of their soul and store it in an object, living or inanimate, though making a soul container of a living object defeats the purpose of having a horcrux in the first place."

 

"Tom had just killed my father and mother as well as having performed the ritual to create a horcrux four times; at this point his soul was fairly shredded and instead of killing me he dumped a chunk of his soul into my body. Speculating about what happened next is a bit like arguing about the chicken and the egg, but suffice to say it didn't go well for him."

 

"So he got blown to smithereens and you got placed into foster care?"

 

"No, I was dumped on my mother's adopted older sister's doorstep. As I mentioned last night, Aunt Petunia hated my mother, she clearly thought she would have been better off without any siblings, biologically related or not. She absolutely couldn't stand not being the center of attention. I was raised, almost literally under a rock and until my 11th birthday I had no idea the magical world existed."

 

"I was just a useless lay about like my father, destined to grow into a slag like my mother; both of which were so uncouth as to get themselves killed driving drunk, according to Petunia."

 

"A bedroom was too good for me, I was kept in the boot closet under the stairs and made to do chores from dawn to dusk. I was starved regularly, beaten occasionally and thoroughly convinced that everything was normal with that."

 

Yukio, long past thoughts of propriety, had shuffled around the tray separating them and taking Harry's hand in his own he squeezed tightly. Harry paused to look at him and was astonished to find that he was crying.

 

"Yukio are you ok?"

 

"I'm just, god that is fucked up." He sniffed and wiped his eyes under his glasses.

 

"Do you want me to stop?"

 

"No, please, I am so sorry about Friday and Saturday." Harry started to object but Yukio waved her off. "I want you now, as my familiar, I wanted you then too but I am fucked up and I just don't know how to be a good person when it matters."

 

"You are doing remarkably well right now."

 

Yukio gave a self deprecating laugh. "You caught me in the middle of a crisis of self. Tomorrow I am teaching and I will have to go back to being Yukio again."

 

"If you say so." Harry gave him a small smile "I may have to get involved if that is the case."

 

Yukio groaned. "Between you and Rin I'm doomed!"

 

"You say it like it's a bad thing!"

 

Harry's bright smile seemed totally out of place with the conversation and despite his recent tears she and Yukio ended up giggling together for several minutes at the incongruity.

 

Eventually Harry continued her story.

 

"When I found out I was magical and would be going to school with other magical kids, I was terrified. The only kids I was ever around were the ones in my regular school who were either scared of me or disgusted by me. My cousin did a good job of tormenting me daily with his pack of goons and they delighted in running off anyone that would even consider being my friend."

 

"So when I got on the train to go to school and ended up sharing a compartment with a boy that was actually more scared than me of other kids, and a girl that was more worried than I was about not belonging I knew I would be all right. We became fast friends, but right from the beginning it was clear to me that the division in magical society was deep." 

 

"Neville, the boy, was a magical child raised in a magical household and had absolutely no concept of a life without magic. It was kind of funny how upset he was that Hermione and I grew up in non magical households. He was absolutely frantic about our treatment at the hands of barbarous muggles. In my case the fear was absolutely justified, but Hermione's parents weren't like that, they were lovely, lovely people."

 

"They were both dentists, and while they were surprised to have a witch for a daughter they were nothing but supportive and kind. They stepped up and took me in when they found out about my home life and for the next four summers I felt like I had a real family."

 

"Something happened to them?"

 

Harry nodded and leaned into Yukio's side. "A reporter broke the story of my childhood abuse and the backlash was predictably bad. I was removed from the Grangers and placed with the Malfoy family."

 

"The Malfoy's were long time supporters of Tom Riddle and his ideas of muggle subjugation, but I was in the same house at school as the scion of the Malfoy family so to the uneducated eye it seemed like a perfect fit." 

 

"House? Like a building?"

 

"Our school was divided into four groups based on characteristics the four founders prized. Gryffindor for the frequently thick headed but adventurous and brave, Ravenclaw for the brainy bookworms like Hermione, Hufflepuff for the loyal hardworking backbone of society and Slytherin for the ambitious or as it often seemed, for entitled purebred snotlings."

 

"I take it you were in Slytherin?" Yukio said smiling at Harry's candid descriptions.

 

"Yeah I ate dinner and went to classes with Draco Malfoy but he was no friend of mine. At best we managed to ignore each other completely."

 

"It must have been uncomfortable to be forced to live with him?"

 

Harry laughed humorlessly "A little more than uncomfortable I'd say. It was a trap and I was to be led like a lamb to the slaughter."

 

"I knew what was in store for me but I needed to get physically close enough to old snake face....." at Yukio's questioning look she corrected herself "Voldemort...I need to flush him out so I could kill him. Almost all his soul anchors were destroyed, either by me or by the Goblins."

 

"When my godfather Sirius Black died killing the other rat that betrayed my family I discovered I had been named his sole heir. As he was head of the Black family and I was a Black by blood through my paternal grandmother I became the new head of house. Not that anyone but the Goblins and myself knew. If I really wanted to I could have declared myself emancipated and there's not a damn thing anyone could have done to stop me. No, going into the Malfoy's custody was a calculated risk."

 

"So you intentionally put yourself into a literal snake pit!?" Yukio looked disturbed

 

"Story of my life." Harry shook her head "I could have run if I wanted to but I don't think I could have lived with myself in the end. No, that psychopath was determined to kill me in person, face to face, it was a good a time as any."

 

"So what, they just brought you in front of that Vol-de-mort guy, no restraints?"

 

Harry snorted. "Yeah something like that!"

 

"Oh my god! So you killed him and got out?"

 

"Not exactly, there was still one soul anchor left, me."

 

Horrified realization dawned on Yukio's face.

 

"You died?"

 

"Yes."

 

"But how are you here?"

 

Harry shrugged. "Didn't stick. I remember thinking 'this is it, I'm dead now' except it was more like a hiccup or a stumble. I didn't lose any forward momentum, and I was just as surprised as anyone else when I summoned my sword through his neck. He went down like a sack of shite and all hell broke loose. I'm not sure who conjured fiendfyre but it was stupendously bad move in a mansion full of people that was in total magical lockdown."

 

Yukio winced. "Did anyone make it out?"

 

"Nope" Harry drew out the word, popping the p at the end for good measure. 

 

"I got a front and center show to the immolation of not only the Malfoy family, but also every follower of snake face that he deemed important enough to witnesses my execution. It was disgusting and prolonged, I have to say, not a death I would wish on anyone really." Harry shuddered lightly "They were a nasty bunch but demonic fire, even the low grade kind conjured by a human wizard has the added quality of consuming the soul as well as flesh, it literally eats everything in it's path until it runs out of fuel or is subdued and banished back to Gehenna. Because I didn't conjure it myself it took me a while to get it under control, by then the mansion was a smoking ruin and I was the only being alive."

 

"I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted so I went home, back to the Grangers', except when I got there they were gone like they never existed. I made it to my friend Neville's house and he handed me a beaded hand bag and a note. The note was from Hermione explaining that she had been given an ultimatum by the Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, that odious pink toad, may she rot in hell."

 

Harry paused to take a deep breath.

 

"Hermione had to choose between her magic or her life. As her muggle parents had been deemed unfit to raise a magical child by the current administration she would be fostered by the Nott family, where she was guaranteed to meet with a fatal accident as soon as was feasible."

 

"Meanwhile her parents would supposedly have their memories wiped, but it was more likely they would be killed. Her other option was to voluntarily have her magic sealed, be sterilized and returned to the muggle world with no memory of the magical one, but at at least alive and somewhat whole. She left me all of her magical possessions, including the artifacts she created, and wished me well."

 

Yukio took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, unable to find the right words to comfort Harry or to express the surge of anger he was trying to shove down.

 

"So how did you end up in limbo?" He ground out from between gritted teeth.

 

"I made a tactical error, never let your anger blind you to the reality of your situation. I left the safety of my friends house, against his wishes, and went directly to the Ministry of Magic, armed and ready for hostile negotiations. What I didn't expect is for them to get the drop on me as soon as I appeared in the building."

 

"Apparently some of snake face's low level lackeys in the ministry took my arrival to mean that as the sole survivor of the 'Malfoy Manor Massacre ' I was the one directly responsible. They hit me, embarrassingly enough, with a petrification jinx and then carted me into the department of magical law enforcement just long enough to accuse me of mass murder, convict me based on heresy and sentence me to immediate execution."

 

Yukio growled deep in the back his throat as he imagined the nebulous and faceless figures holding Harry hostage on the wrong side of his Detonics custom 1911's. A little cold iron or blessed phosphorus to add a kick to the round, flesh splitting like overripe fruit, their worthless blood pooling at his feet as he satisfied his rage on the meager scraps of their mortal lives.

 

"Yukio, are you ok?"

 

Yukio tried to speak but no sound came out. He was shaking, he was so angry. A fine sheen of sweat beaded his brow. Without his glasses on everything except for Harry took on a blurry blue tint. The metal tray at his feet that held the remains of their breakfast caught the light and the sudden flash of blue caused him to lash out with the rage he was barely holding in. The tray shuddered and lurched like a thing possessed, noisily crashing to the floor.

 

The sound seemed to shock Yukio back to himself "Fuck, I'm sorry!" he moved to stand up and found his arms were being held back by Harry, turning to face her he was surprised to see her wide eyed and panting slightly.

 

"All of a sudden all I could see was blue flames, what the hell was that Yukio?!"

 

She was close, too close. It would be nothing for him to eliminate the distance, freeing his arms from her grasp while he distracted her with his mouth and tongue.

 

He could vividly imagine his teeth pressing into the soft skin of her shoulder while she gasped and writhed against him.

 

"Woah! Is everything ok in here?" Rin stood halfway through the doorway gaping at the mess on the floor.

 

Yukio shuddered subtly in Harry's grasp "I have no idea what that was." he said softly, still feeling disoriented despite his brothers timely intervention.

 

"Yeah, we're fine." Harry said a bit loudly for Rin's benefit "We accidentally knocked the tray off the bed while we were talking, sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

 

Rin wasn't sure what he walked into but it looked like Yukio was going to kiss Harry, or eat her. He narrowed his eyes, Yukio was acting less and less like himself; he could have sworn for a second he saw a blue flash the same exact color of his flames.

 

"Yukio, you look like you are going to be sick or something."

 

Harry looked to Yukio to get confirmation of Rin's statement and was startled to see that Yukio was white as a sheet and breathing too fast.

 

"Rin, is he prone to panic attacks?"

 

"Not since we were very little but something seems to have set him off, hold on." Rin stepped around the mess on the floor and shuffled across the bed to reach Yukio.

 

"Just before the tray dropped I saw blue flames. I'm not sure if it was some kind of feedback through the bond or an actual conjuration..." Harry trailed off at the grim expression on Rin's face.

 

"I saw something too, not sure exactly what it was but that sounds possible." Rin said quietly looking at his younger brother's stricken face in profile, "Yuki can you look at me?"

 

Yukio rapidly shook his head no and pressed his palms over his eyes, curling forward like he was trying to implode and disappear. Harry and Rin exchanged concerned looks over his shaking head.

 

"It's alright Yuki, you are scared right now but you are safe. You are in your bed in a locked and warded building. I'm here and Harry is here, we won't let anything get to you. Nothing is broken or ruined, no one expects you to do anything or go anywhere, you can take as long as you need."

 

"Do you want me to touch you?" Harry asked, Yukio nodded shakily, face still buried in his hands, trying to control his breathing.

 

Harry loosely let her arm come around his shoulders worried by how damp his shirt was getting. The small amount of touch seemed to be helpful, Yukio leaned slightly towards her as his shaking lessened.

 

"Yuki, I'm going to go down stairs for a minute to get water and some towels." Yukio didn't protest or acknowledge his brother and Rin took his silence as assent.

 

Rin paused at the door casting a concerned glance back at Harry who nodded at him to carry on before he swept down the hallway as quickly as he could without making a racket.

 

Yukio began taking slower deeper breaths, still occasionally panting like he had been running a marathon but overall sounding less like he was close to passing out.

 

Harry continued to encourage him gently. "That's good, you are still safe and everything is ok here, just focus on breathing steady."

 

In no time at all Rin was back with a small stack of hand towels under his arm, a pitcher of water and three glasses. He shrugged "I thought we could all use a drink. Yuki would you like a wet towel or a dry one?"

 

"Wet" Yukio croaked out quietly.

 

Rin carefully dampened a towel and handed it to Harry to drape over the back of Yukio's neck causing him to shiver for a second. "Good. Leave it." Yukio said when he felt Harry shift beside him like she was going to remove it.

 

"Ok but if you get cold let me know and I will grab you a blanket."

 

Yukio gave a nod and let out a shuddering sigh.

 

Tilting his head back he let his hands slide off his face and with his eyes closed he gestured towards Rin with a limp hand "Dry" he stated and Rin handed him a dry towel. He then began mopping up his face paying special attention to where his hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat.

 

Finally cracking his eyes open Yukio looked down and the sweat damp cloth in his hands. "Ugh gross, I'm sorry, I haven't done that for a while."

 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rin asked hopefully.

 

"No, not at all but I think I have to." Yukio slumped against Harry and peered up at his Rin. "I really think you should hear this."

 

"You want me to tell Rin what we were talking about?" Harry asked

 

Yukio shuddered. "Later if you want. I don't want you to think that I can't handle difficult subjects but something happened while you were talking earlier. I don't know if it was all me or if there was something bleeding through the bond but all I could think of for a few minutes there was slaughtering everyone who had ever laid on hand on you." 

 

Yukio coughed lightly into the towel in his hand and sipped the glass of water Rin handed him. 

 

"It was like something flipped a switch in my head, everything was electric blue and hazy, like how the pavement looks on a really hot day." 

 

Yukio looked troubled as he sipped at his water for a moment before continuing. "I was really, really angry and then the tray startled me and the next thing I remember thinking was how easy it would be for me to...." Yukio trailed off into deep deliberate breaths while Rin and Harry waited patiently.

 

Yukio leaned away from Harry and turned to look at her. "Yesterday was a misunderstanding. There was absolutely nothing sexual about our confrontation in the shower." he dropped his gaze somewhat bashfully "You are bound to me, at this point for better or for worse, but I would never....force you into anything....intimate." 

 

Yukio looked over at Rin. "That was terrifying, for a few seconds there I didn't feel like me at all."

 

Rin frowned thoughtfully. "How did the tray end up on the floor?"

 

"I thought Yukio kicked it." Harry looked at Yukio as Yukio shook his head.

 

"No, I didn't touch it."

 

"So one of you moved the tray without touching it. Harry what were you thinking about when this happened?"

 

"Yukio froze and started shaking, I was worried that he was going to fall off the the bed so I grabbed his arms to hold him up and I asked him if he was ok. He didn't answer me but I think he was growling?"

 

Yukio sighed. "Possibly."

 

"The tray started shaking and rattling; for a second all I could see was blue flames. Then the tray was on the floor, Yukio yelled and was trying to jump up but I was still holding him. You were there Rin, and then Yukio went into a panic attack."

 

Rin looked at Yukio. "You said that dad had you tested, that you always came up 100% human right?"

 

"Yeah and I still get tested daily, why?"

 

"Did you get tested yesterday?"

 

Yukio's frown deepened. "No, I forgot."

 

"This test, is it something you can do here, at home without letting anyone know the results?"

 

"Its not hard, just a simple litmus test and I think I have everything here." 

 

Yukio struggled to his feet and shuffled over to his desk where his medical supplies were. Rin followed behind him while Harry took a moment to banish the mess on the floor.

 

Yukio set up a stand with test tubes and extracted a vial of reagent from his field kit. He shook the vial and after popping the cap poured a measure into each test tube. 

 

"Fuck!" He exclaimed as his hand shook causing him to spill a small amount on the desk. Rin moved to wipe it with an extra towel but Yukio stopped him.

 

"Don't touch it, you could trigger a false positive and I would rather not have to do this twice in one day." 

 

He capped the test tubes and pulled out a case of individually prepackaged sterile needles attached to small tubes.

 

"Normally I would use these to take fluid samples from a demonic injury but they are vacuum tubes and work well for a small blood draw in a pinch." 

 

Yukio secured a temporary tourniquet, swabbed a spot on his inner arm with a practiced motion and went to insert the needle. 

 

At the least second he stopped before he pierced the skin, his hand was shaking violently.

 

"Do you need me to do that?" Rin asked

 

"No, I can do it, just talk to me so I can calm down."

 

Rin started to babble, in a soothing voice about his kitchen adventure with the waffle iron, which is what he came upstairs to talk about in the first place.

 

Yukio's hand steadied and he was able to insert the needle and fill the syringe. He carefully withdrew the needle, and detached the tube full of blood, dropping the needle in a portable sharps container. He then used a syringe to add a small amount of blood to each test tube. As soon as he recapped the test tubes he removed the tourniquet and accepted a towel from Rin to staunch the small amount of blood seeping from the puncture wound.

 

"So what are we looking for?"

 

"We are looking for a change in the reagent, typically with demonic blood it will begin to break apart violently."

 

"Like that?" Run gestured to the row of test tubes that were shaking in their holder and intermittently belching small blue flames.

 

Yukio jumped back just as the whole lot of them melted into puddle of slag on his desk. Rin quickly handed him the half full pitcher of water to quench the normal flames that were starting to creep out as the molten glass bit into the wood of his desk.

 

Yukio focused on moving his supplies and books to a safe distance from the unexpected conflagration. As soon as the fire was completely out he sat directly on the floor like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

 

"Fuck Yuki, I am so sorry." Rin crouched down trying to comfort his brother who was close to tears again.

 

"I really shouldn't be surprised. Mephisto alluded to the possibility yesterday and I am just as much a son of Satan as you are. I would rather find out now than in the middle of a mission where lives are on the line."

 

"So this means that you are a demon too?"

 

Yukio nodded slightly. "Or close enough for me to start manifesting some iteration of the blue flames. I think I was the one that made the tray move."

 

Harry looked down at Yukio. "Does it really matter? I mean at the end of the day you are still you, you just have to be a little more careful about your emotions. You know, when magical children are young they really don't have any control of their power, it tends to erupt out of them dramatically when they are angry, stressed or scared."

 

"Do you think that was accidental magic?"

 

"I am not sure of the difference between mortal and demon magic developmentally. If you were a human wizard you would be considered an extremely late bloomer but your demonic heritage muddies the water."

 

Yukio snorted. "Yes, yes it does. What are we going to do about this? The Vatican is going to loose their collective shit. One manifested son of Satan is bad enough but both of us....they will kill us for sure."

 

"They can bloody well try and die." Harry growled "Not going to fucking happen on my watch. You said we are together in this, bound, for better or worse, and if this is worse then I say fucking bring it on!"

 

Rin looked at Harry with starry eyes "Yuki, she's so bad ass, can we really keep her?"

 

Despite everything, or perhaps because of it Yukio felt the sudden urge to laugh and couldn't stop the chuckle that bubbled up in his chest. Thinking silently he concluded "This could be worse. I'm ok." Looking at both Harry and Rin he amended his statement "No, we're ok." and let a small grin creep across his face.

 

"I know we decided to leave Mephisto alone until he sought us out but with things the way the are....."

 

Rin had a sour look that was at odds with his earlier good humor. "Yeah, we should probably tell the clown what's going on."

 

"Well, at the very least he should be able to run damage control if there is an incident this week. I really don't think we can put this off." Yukio looked up at Harry apologetically. "If you want to put off meeting him a bit longer I can probably get him to stay away for a day or two."

 

"No, it's fine. I would rather just go with you and get it over with."

 

"You should give him a call and see if he wants to have dinner with us tonight. Knowing how much he likes to show off he will probably just turn around and tell us to come over to his place, then we can dump the news on him in style." Rin smirked wickedly and rubbed his hands together in glee.

 

"If we do that you know he's going to insist on semi formal dress at the least."

 

Rin rolled his eyes. "I can wear a clean uniform and actually tuck my shirt in. Pretty much everything you own is passable Yukio. What about you Harry?"

 

"I have two options, I can wear what passes for formal in the wizarding world or I can wear my armor. Both are equally flamboyant but the armor is a bit more functional."

 

"What do you think Yuki?" Rin asked.

 

"Let me call him and see what we he wants to do before we start laying out clothes."

 

Yukio accepted Rin's hand up and began patting down Rin's pockets.

 

"Hey man! What the hell!?"

 

"You said you had my cell phone now cough it up!"

 

"Shit Yuki, OW! WATCH THE TAIL MR GRABBY HANDS!" Rin jumped back about five feet cradling his tail in both hands as it lashed back and forth angrily.

 

"I thought I told you to put that away!" 

 

Rin blushed scarlet at Yukio's words.

 

"I did! But you went ahead and grabbed it anyway!"

 

Yukio made an impatient 'give me gesture'. "Fine, alright, sheesh." Rin reached into his back jean pocket and pulled out a phone. He then tossed it to Yukio before the other could get it in his head to attack again.

 

"Did you hurt your tail? Do you want me to look at it?" Harry stepped forward with a concerned look on her face.

 

"Nu wha? NO! It's fine!" Rin stammered turning red again in record time.

 

"Ok then...." Harry trailed off muttering to herself "It's not like I asked to see his dick or anything...."

 

Rin gulped and hastily re-secured his tail around his torso.

 

Yukio powered on his phone checking for missed calls and text messages, sighing in relief when he realized that no one had tried to get in touch with him.

 

He went to his call history and dialed Mephisto while gesturing for quiet.

 

The phone rang loudly a couple of times before a suave yet cheerful voice came on. "Moshi-moshi, what can I do for you Yukio-chan?"

 

Yukio cleared his throat slightly "Ah, yes, Rin has convinced me to take the night off and since you mentioned you would like to meet my new familiar we wondered if you would like to get together for dinner?"

 

"How delightful!" Yukio cringed and held the phone slightly away from his ear "What did you have in mind?"

 

"Well, Rin and I thought we could have a quiet dinner here in the dorm or...."

 

"Nonsense!" Mephisto talked over Yukio, cutting him off with his mellifluous voice. "We simply cannot treat such a momentous occasion like an ordinary Sunday supper at home! No, that won't do at all! Normally I would suggest one of the many splendid dining establishments nearby but as this is a family affair and Amaimon-chan is in town I insist that you come to mine. I trust that semi formal wear won't be an issue?" Yukio could hear the older demon's nails clicking impatiently on the edge of the receiver.

 

"No that sounds fine. I will make sure Rin cleans up well. What time would you like us over?"

 

"Time? Yes, you do have a full schedule tomorrow let's make it an early supper, say about 5 this evening? But feel free to come by earlier for tea."

 

Yukio glanced at Rin and Harry and upon receiving nods from them agreed to a 5pm dinner time and hastily got off the phone.

 

Yukio took a deep breath and blew it out forcefully.

 

"Ok then, so we are doing this. I think I'm going to grab a shower. Anyone else need one?"

 

Rin shook his head no and Harry fllowed suit.

 

"I'm good. Do you want me to fix this?" She gestured to the desk with a cooled but obviously melted puddle of glass buried halfway through the top.

 

"I don't know, can you?"

 

"I can banish the glass and blood sample, it's not a good idea to leave that sort of thing laying around. If I can't repair the desk top we can always salvage one from one of the other rooms."

 

"If you can do that while I'm in the shower I will be forever grateful."

 

"No problem, go get clean. Rin would you mind helping me with this?"

 

"Sure!"

 

Harry banished the blood sample and the used needle from the sharps container while Rin inspected the desktop."

 

Shaking his head affectionately Yukio gathered his shower things and a change of clothes before he left the room.

 

A few minutes after Yukio walked out, when she was sure he wasn't going to come back for something he may have forgotten, Harry turned to to Rin with a determined expression on her face.

 

"I think we should talk to Yukio about drawing up a formal contract between the two of us."

 

Rin choked on his own spit for a second and then managed to croak out. "A contract for what?"

 

"Yukio summoned me naturally and that bond has been reinforced by my sigil carved in his flesh and blood. No one can contest my protection of him, they would literally have to kill me to get to him. You are his twin, his blood, and I feel you almost as strongly through the bond as he feels you himself but there is no formal agreement between us and that could be used against us."

 

"In what way?"

 

"A familiar is expected to go to extremes to protect it's summoner. The only time a familiar will protect someone else is if the summoner wills it or there is a pre-existing contract."

 

Rin looked confused. "I am sure Yukio would have no problem with you protecting me." 

 

"But that is exactly the issue! If I protect you from the Vatican and someone dies in the process then Yukio is automatically responsible for my actions and could be executed. But if I fought to protect him and someone was killed he wouldn't be held accountable because there are laws that exist to protect trainers from that exact situation."

 

"So wait. You are saying you want to be both mine, and Yukio's familiar?"

 

Harry nodded. "It's the safest option for all of us, especially now that Yukio is manifesting his demon heritage."

 

"Ok, I'm in. How do we do this?"

 

"I am thinking the best way to create the bond is for you to take my sigil. If you want you can also use the invocation Yukio used to pull me out of limbo. It shouldn't make much of a difference but it may make your end of the bond a bit more responsive than without."

 

"Yeah, I can do that. Do you remember the invocation?"

 

Harry smiled wistfully, "Yes. It's actually something that Hermione said to me, our friend Neville and his housemate Ronald after we were nearly eaten by a ceberus. Do you have some paper and a pen I will say it while you write it down."

 

"Ceberus?" Rin asked as he rummaged through Yukio's desk.

 

"Yeah, great big three headed dog, quite capable of eating four eleven year olds."  

 

"Sounds scary." Rin glanced down at the paper "Ok, ready."

 

Harry put on a crisp haughty voice "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled."

 

Rin started laughing "You were almost eaten alive and this is what she said?! I think I would have really liked this girl!"

 

Harry just shrugged and smiled "That's likely, in some ways Yukio reminds me of her, very similar work ethic. Speaking of Yukio, should we wait for him?"

 

"No. We had best hurry up and get it done before he's finished in the shower. He will just get stressed out all over again. We can tell him afterwards."

 

"Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission?"

 

"Exactly. Do I need summoning paper for this?"

 

"No. The circle is there to create a doorway, which is something we don't want."

 

"All right, here goes." Rin allowed his nails to pierce the palm of his hand and draw a small amount of blood. In his other hand he held the written words and read them outloud in his strongest clearest voice. Harry sighed in satisfaction as she felt a tugging towards Rin coming from somewhere behind her breast bone.

 

"Did it work?" Rin asked mistaking her sigh for a sound of concern.

 

"Yes, I believe so. I definitely felt a pull towards you."

 

"Awesome. Now it's your turn, can you mark my chest like Yukio's?"

 

"Are you sure that's where you want it?" 

 

"Yeah. Shirt off or on?"

 

"Off. This is going to hurt but it will be quick."

 

"I'm ready." 

 

Rin braced himself as Harry uttered a long sibilant word and made several sharp movements with her wand. Rin was about to say something to her along the lines of having missed him by a mile when suddenly bright red began spilling from the skin of his chest, then the pain hit like a fiery wall taking his breath away. 

 

He could barely make out the singsong chant Harry was performing over the roaring in his ears. Just when he thought he was going to pass out, the pain was gone and looking down he saw a silvery scar identical to his brother's.

 

"There, all finished." Harry said as she removed some droplets of blood from the front of his jeans with a barely whispered spell. 

 

"How do you feel?"

 

"Fine I suppose. A little achy but nothing intolerable. Good timing, Yukio is on his way back." Rin scrambled back into his shirt.

 

"How do you know?"

 

"Well you seem to have a sense of him now, or at least he is familiar enough to me that I can pick him out through your bond with him."

 

"Interesting! I hadn't considered that possibility. I don't think that is a very common ability, do you think it is a side effect of you being twins?"

 

"Shit! If it is then I am pretty sure Yukio felt that, quick, brace yourself!"

 

The door slammed open and Yukio stalked in fully dressed. "What the hell was that!?" He demanded as he crossed his arms angrily.

 

Harry and Rin exchanged loaded glances trying to ascertain who should go first.

 

"I figured out a way to extend my protection of Rin without overextending my role as your familiar."

 

Yukio looked from Harry to Rin expectantly. Rin grimaced, "Remember how the old man always taught us to share our toys?"

 

"Did you really just call me a toy?"

 

Great, Rin thought, now both Harry and Yukio were glaring at him. "Sorry, that come out sounding wrong. What I am trying to say is I used the same summoning you did and accepted her sigil, Harry is now my familiar too."

 

"Was this your idea?" Yukio asked Rin flatly.

 

"No, it was mine."

 

"Feh, alright then." Yukio said backing down. "What's done is done and I think your idea was well reasoned. Hopefully this will give us a loophole in the future when it comes to dealing with the Vatican. I really hate to lean on Mephisto for anything but I think we should add it to our list of things that we need to tell him tonight."

 

"Agreed. Rin?" Harry asked.

 

"Yeah, good by me." Rin was astonished that Yukio let the whole thing drop with so little fuss.

 

"We need to finish getting ready soon, do you both have your clothes ready?"

 

Rin shrugged and pulled a brand new uniform set from his closet. "Been saving this one for a rainy day."

 

"Harry?" 

 

"Can I get your opinion before I decide?"

 

"Of course! Rin I will be back in a few minutes, go ahead and get dressed when we leave."

 

"Sure, fine."

 

"Shall we?" Yukio gestured through the doorway and into the hall, ignoring his big brother's quiet laughter as he closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Rin I'm so full I can't eat another bite!"
> 
> "I know man, the fried chicken waffles were so good I couldn't stop eating, now I feel like I'm gonna explode!"
> 
> ::quiet breathing and grumbling stomach noises::
> 
> "Ukobach, you know what would also be amazing in a waffle?"
> 
> "What Rin?"
> 
> "Syrup!"
> 
> "Yes.....you put syrup on a waffle, it's not exactly a new idea."
> 
> "Not on the waffle, *IN* the waffle! Then you can use two waffles like buns and turn the whole thing into a breakfast sandwich."
> 
> "You could have egg and sausage!"
> 
> "Or bacon and egg!"
> 
> "LET'S DO IT!"
> 
> ......and that is the somewhat true story of how the McGriddle was conceived; don't let McDonald's fool you with that flat pancake mess, the real deal comes with waffles.


	6. Magical Mister Mephistopheles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry, Yukio and Rin have a dinner date with destiny.

 

Following Harry into her room Yukio paused at the threshold of the doorway and stared. 

 

The room was nearly unrecognizable as belonging to the building they were in, the only things that were clearly from the old dorm were the towering floor to ceiling book shelves. As many of the titles were in Latin Yukio didn't struggle too badly while browsing the stacks.

 

"These are phenomenal Harry!" He exclaimed excitedly as he ran his finger along a substantial volume with barely legible gold embossed lettering.

 

Harry emerged from the depths of her closet carrying a bundle of cloth.

 

"Be careful Yukio, some of those books can literally bite." She said teasingly.

 

Yukio allowed his hand to drop to his side, unsure if she was serious or not. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor he turned away from temptation to help her sort through the garments on her bed.

 

Peeking through a pile of mostly dark jewel toned cloth was a sliver of dusky blue. Yukio gently tugged it loose and was rewarded with a flowing dress robe in richly colored silk which shifted between far periwinkle, deeper cobalt blue and lavender. Intertwined ropes of highly stylized floral embroidery in moon glow shades hypnotically bloomed and wilted before returning to bud and bloom again in perpetuity.

 

"This one will make a fantastic first impression." Yukio held it out for Harry to see.

 

"Are you sure it's not too fancy?"

 

Yukio laughed lightly. "No such thing when it comes to Mephisto. He is the textbook definition of opulent, eccentric, rich and hedonistic."

 

"Ok, but I'm going to need your help to get into it. It looks deceptively simple but has about a zillion microscopic buttons. Wizarding Great Britain was firmly stuck in Victorian era fashion when Hermione got me this as an early birthday gift. Thankfully she was thinking form and function so a corset isn't required."

 

Yukio blushed. "Um, sure just let me know what to do."

 

"Well for the moment step out into the hallway."

 

She hunted on the nearest book shelf for a moment and came back up with a massive tome. 

 

"Here take this out with you, there are plenty of pictures so it should keep you busy for a few minutes while I get the base layers of the robe on. I will call you back in when I need help with the outer robe."

 

Yukio nodded his understanding and carried the book out into the hallway. He crouched against the wall, careful to keep his suit clean and unwrinkled and opened the book.

 

Harry wasn't kidding when she said there were lots of pictures, in fact it looked like it was entirely pictures. The further left he went in the book the more the pictures appeared to be cut from newspaper, so this was a scrapbook of sorts? 

 

He flipped all the way to the end of the book and realized that he was looking through it backwards. Starting again, this time from left to right he noticed many of the early pages featured the same puffy haired bucktoothed little girl holding various awards and certificates. 

 

Not bothering to try and puzzle out the small print that looked like it was English, Yukio progressed through the beginning of the book rapidly, watching the little girl steadily grow into a still puffy haired and bucktoothed adolescent. Approximately two thirds of the way the quality of the pictures changed to slick studio shots before abruptly giving way to brilliantly colored photographs depicting a medieval reenactment. 

 

Yukio abruptly realized that they were moving and went back to the beginning of that section of photos to look at them again with a more careful eye.

 

Yukio wasn't exactly surprised, Rin had already told him the pictures in Harry's books moved, but these pictures seemed more alive than the simple animations he was expecting. The colors were deeper and richer than the earlier still photos and the shadows shifted as if the light source was also moving.

 

He experimentally waved at a page that showed a massive group of bored looking children of varying ages wearing black robes accented with either green, gold, blue or red standing on a grand stone staircase as if it were a riser. Most of the figures waved back at him, albeit with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Harry was right there in the front looking only slightly younger than she did now, waving with both hands while nudging the puffy haired girl from the earlier pictures with her hip and speaking rapidly. 

 

Yukio wished he could figure out what she was saying because whatever it was must have been hilarious. The two rows of children behind her crumpled into hysterical laughter, even the typically stoic puffy haired girl cracked a grin. 

 

A thin boy with white blond hair that was slicked back into a solid mass above his sharply featured face, colored bright red and abruptly stopped waving before stomping angrily out of the frame of the picture with a small but thuggish looking entourage.

 

Picture Harry smirked and blew him a kiss with a wink. Startled, Yukio slammed the book shut with a bang.

 

From inside her room Harry called out "Is everything all right?"

 

"Yes, fine! I'm sorry, I almost dropped the book you gave me."

 

"That's fine, I'm ready for you to come back in anyway."

 

Yukio shifted the book to one hand and opened the door.

 

Stopping for a moment to take in Harry's outfit he hummed appreciatively. 

 

"If I didn't know better I would think you were fully dressed."

 

Harry laughed and took the book from him putting it back on it's shelf. 

 

"It's not exactly the height of fashion but I could care less. Again, thank Hermione's no nonsense approach, can you believe that these are pants and a kind of button down tunic?"

 

Sure enough on closer inspection Yukio could see that while the fabric was very full and draped beautifully the center slit was seamed all the way through similar to umanori hakama. The shirt had a modestly high neck but was closely tailored and inset with nearly transparent panels of sheer silk giving the impression of scintillating embroidery creeping over bare skin. 

 

Harry turned while bundling her hair up on her head, casually catching it in a clip, giving Yukio an unintentional show of her hands sliding sensually down her neck.

 

"Aw, damn. Yukio I think I missed some buttons in the back, can you check for me?"

 

Yukio fought against his suddenly dry throat and stepped forward. "Sure, give me a moment."

 

He stepped into her space and carefully brushed a rouge tendril of her hair aside with the back of his hand. The sensation of it sliding silkily across his skin made him hyper aware of his breathing, the rapidity of the pulse and about a dozen useless things. Yukio was no stranger to bodily functions, arousal being just one of many potential physical states, but for the first time he felt like his extensive medical knowledge was absolutely useless. 

 

He brushed his fingers down the seam of the garment laying against the back of her neck and sure enough the buttons were tiny. He nearly mistook them for largish bead appliqué but they were in fact small grey pearls. 

 

He allowed his fingers to creep along slowly, stubbornly ignoring his libido in favor of the task at hand and sure enough below the nape of her neck almost between her shoulder blades, were a handful of buttons only a contortionist could reach on their own.

 

He deftly buttoned them before stepping back.

 

"Thank you Yukio! Are you ready for the over robe now?"

 

Yukio made to wipe his sweaty palms on his trousers and the thought better of it. He discretely dried his hands on the edge of Harry's bed spread and lifted the the overrobe in his hands.

 

"Yes, I have it here. Does the split go in the back?"

 

"Yes. It buttons in the back for some unfathomable reason despite the fact that it is essentially a glorified tail coat."

 

Yukio helped to ease the material over her head. It was slightly thicker than the material of her blouse but it still slid through his hands with almost zero friction. 

 

"What kind of silk is this?"

 

"It's acromantula which is a magical breed of spider that can grow to be the size of a small car. We had a rather large colony living in the forest outside the school."

 

"Hermione and I saved the life of a unicorn in the forest our first year and the gamekeeper was so pleased he gave us a massive amount of raw silk as well as unicorn hair. Hermione sold some of it and had the rest processed. She surprised me with this robe set about four years after the fact."

 

"So the embroidery...." Yukio trailed off trying to focus on the frustratingly tiny pearl buttons.

 

"Is unicorn hair." Harry ran her finger down the high collar of the over robe, following along one of the twisting vines and stopping where the the robe opened to expose a teasing view of her cleavage through a sheer panel.

 

Yukio paused in his buttoning for a microsecond when his eyes rested on the spot where her finger stopped. He mentally shook himself, Harry was fairly petite despite her fighters physique and Yukio was tall for his age. He could see down her top effortlessly and the view was driving his blood pressure so high he was at risk of developing a nosebleed.

 

"If Tou-san was here he would be laughing himself sick." Yukio murmured.

 

"What was that?"

 

"Sorry, nothing important really, just talking to myself." 

 

Yukio crouched down so he could reach the remaining buttons at her low back.

 

He sighed as he realized he was looking at her ass. 

 

Thankfully he was finished quickly after that and giving the hem of the robe a gentle tug to get the seam laying straight down her spine, Yukio was able to stand and announce quietly that he was finished.

 

Just in time too as Rin chose that exact moment to come barging in through the door. 

 

"Hey are you guys ready?" Rin looked up from messing with his cuffs for a moment and stopped dead in surprise. "Woah Harry! You look like a fairy queen!"

 

Harry smiled "Your brother did most of the hard work but thanks. I'm ready when you guys are."

 

Rin cocked an eyebrow at Yukio who shook his head no indicating he didn't want to discuss the reasons why he was so flustered.

 

"All right then." Rin closed the door to Harry's room and turned to Yukio. "Since to you have the key would you like to do the honors?"

 

"Sure." Yukio said while stepping forwards. He inserted his key in the lock and opened the door into a cavernous ballroom. 

 

Harry shivered and focused on the lines of Yukio's suit clad back as he led the way out of the ballroom into a wide, well lit hallway.

 

Mephisto's personal butler was waiting for them in the hall and greeted their party with a bow.

 

"The master awaits your presence in the terrace room."

 

"Lead the way Belial." Yukio said confidently as Harry and Rin followed closely behind him.

 

Harry goggled as she walked, not at the sheer opulence surrounding her, despite her poor upbringing she had seen enough garish displays of weath to be unphased, but at the fact that she had found herself somewhere more ostentatious than the former Malfoy residence.

 

She leaned forward into Rin and Yukio's space and with a chuckle said quietly "The last time I was in a mansion this ridiculous I watched it burn to the ground. This is crazy, I think portions of it are modeled after the palace at Versailles!"

 

Belial, from the head of the procession corrected her. "Actually this residence predates the palace at Versailles by several hundred years."  

 

"I stand corrected. This is the original insane rich person house."

 

"Indeed." Belial turned, a slight cease in the corner of one side of his lips was the most he would allow himself to show his amusement. He slowed to a stop and pulled open an ornate door with a professional flourish.

 

"Enter! Enter! Good evening my young brothers!" A jovial voice cried out bombastically from somewhere in the depths of the room.

 

Following Yukio and Rin, Harry walked into a surprisingly tasteful space. The walls were lined with book shelves and massive floor to ceiling windows broken up by the occasional set of French doors led out to a wide and well appointed terrace overlooking an immaculately green expanse of lawn.

 

The room contained a small amount of furniture, a few expensive looking wing back chairs and a low settee gathered around a small coffee table that was loaded with tea things.

 

"I thought we could sit and talk for a while before eating. I am very excited to get to know your familiar littlest Ototou."

 

Harry looked at the owner of the smooth melodic voice for the first time and froze in shock.

 

Sitting in a wingback chair in the center of the seating arrangement was a man in a deep red dinner jacket, wearing a white pant suit topped by a bright pink and white polka dot cravat. His playfully styled purple hair was at odds with the sly calculating look in his green eyes, and the color of his hair itself clashed with the color of his clothing in such a way as to simultaneously demand visual attention and to defuse the instant mistrust many people felt in his presence. In short, for the uninitiated, his sheer visual presence was enough to drop jaws.

 

However in this case the astonishment was entirely mutual and their host had managed to simultaneously crush his teacup in one hand and drive the claws of his other hand through the expensive silk clad arm of his chair.

 

"Lady Potter!" He said to the room at large in absolute shock.

 

"Lord Faust." Harry replied rotely, her brain still not quite caught up to the situation at hand.

 

"My you have hardly aged since I saw you last. How delightful!" A smile curled the corners of his lips and suddenly his mouth seemed to contain too many teeth.

 

"YOU! YOU SONOFABITCH!" Harry was already in motion as the words left her mouth, sword sweeping down in her left hand, wand raising up in her right.

 

"HARRY NO! STOP!" Both Yukio and Rin cried out simultaneously.

 

Harry paused, quivering, crouched on the edge of the small table. The trembling of her body caused the tea service to rattle out a staccato beat. The point of her sword was rock steady and inches from spearing the director through the eye.

 

Mephisto frowned and moved his hand to casually wave the sword away when Rin shouted out suddenly. "Stop, it's poisoned! Don't touch the blade!"

 

"Right." Mephisto muttered "I should have remembered that."

 

"Harry, please put your weapons away, this is the director of the Japanese branch of the True Cross Order, and....our Anuie. Please don't kill him, it would be very bad." Harry could see Yukio standing in her peripheral vision, holding his hands out in supplication, his body language pleading.

 

Harry dropped her wand arm and pulled her sword back in cold furious silence.

 

She shifted her balance and adjusted her stance on the table before allowing her sword and wand to blink from existence.

 

Mephisto sighed gratefully and straightened in his chair but before he could begin to take control of the situation Harry shot forward bringing her fist directly into contact with his face.

 

He squawked as his chair with him in it followed the momentum of her punch, tumbling him ass over teakettle and onto the floor.

 

Harry wasted no time vaulting over him, using the height she gained by springing off the table. Tearing the chair off of his prone form she took advantage of his dazed shock to straddle his chest, trapping his arms at his sides. She took hold of his florid cravat in her right hand and swung with her left.

 

Her second punch was followed by a third and a fourth before she settled in a rhythm of subduing a weakly struggling Mephisto by bouncing his head off the expensive marble floor and punching him soundly when he stopped struggling for a moment.

 

Rin and Yukio's shocked gasps, Harry's ragged breathing and Mephisto's increasingly weak sounds of protest did absolutely nothing to drown out the sound of roaring laughter bubbling up from somewhere above them.

 

After a few long minutes Amaimon hopped down from his perch atop the bookcase nearest the main door. Still hiccupping and giggling he physically hauled Harry off of Mephisto.

 

"At this rate you may not kill Anuie but if he gets a bad enough concussion he will skip dinner and send us away, which means none of us will eat." He stood Harry upright and straightened her robes.

 

"Hand." He said rudely.

 

"What?" Harry asked dazedly.

 

"Give me your hand now." 

 

Harry held out her right hand and Amaimon grasped it firmly before turning it and brushing her unblemished knuckles with his lips. 

 

"Amaimon, Demon King of Earth and Lord of the Underdark"

 

Amaimon's formal greeting cut through the residual adrenaline buzzing in Harry's blood and she completed the compulsory ritual by giving her own title. 

 

"Lady Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, Champion of Hogwarts, Defender of Hogsmede, Vanquisher of Voldemort, Heir of houses Peverell, Gryffindor and Slytherin, Master of Death."

 

As the last of her title left her lips Amaimon's bright golden eyes snapped up to meet hers. 

 

"No, he didn't." He breathed leaning forward into her personal space.

 

"Yes he did." She said bitterly leaning forward further still.

 

"Well, this is a surprise, but I always wanted a little sister." 

 

Still holding her hand, Amaimon pulled Harry into a spine cracking embrace.

 

Rin stood back, arms crossed observing Amaimon, green spiky hair and all, while he was interacting with Harry. 

 

"What do you think of this guy?"

 

"Hmmmm, oh Amaimon? He's alright." Yukio shrugged "He has a fantastic garden."

 

Amaimon narrowed his eyes and sent Yukio a pleased but frighteningly fangy facsimile of a grin over Harry's head.

 

Yukio found himself smiling back before he coughed and took on a serious tone. "We should tend to Harry's hand but we need to do something about Anuie. I feel like we should at least see if he is breathing normally and then move him to the settee?" He trailed of questioningly glancing at Rin for approval. 

 

"Don't look at me!" Rin exclaimed "You're the doctor!"

 

"Don't worry I can take care of our Imouto's hand if you can see to Anuie."

 

Yukio nodded and called out for Rin to help him straighten out the mess on the floor.

 

"Give me your other hand." Amaimon drew back far enough for Harry to shift and raise her left hand.

 

Taking her hand carefully between his own he turned it slowly in a controlled manner. She would have massive bruising and be quite stiff later, as to be expected, after all there had to have been alot of force behind her blows for the demon king to still be down.

 

Thankfully it didn't look like she broke any bones. Amaimon reflected that it was good to know she was fairly sturdy and could throw a punch correctly. Amaimon's esteem for her inched up another notch. The only thing left to do was to clean up the blood and staunch the wounds where she had split her knuckles on Anuie's face. 

 

Amaimon raised her hand a bit higher and swept his tongue over the abrasions in her flesh. Tasting both the familiar tang of Aniue and a sweetness that must have been Harry's blood he gave a small sound of appreciation. He did love sweet tasting things and her blood was quite nice on his tongue. When he was sure he had finished clearing the last trace of blood from her wounds he pulled a dark green colored cloth from the inside of his tattered coat. Tearing it into strips with a casual swipe of his claws he efficiently wrapped her knuckles.

 

Looking up from his work he caught the startled look on her face and realized, with a small pang of embarrassment, that he had licked her wound clean like commoner as opposed to using his magic as she probably expected him to. 

 

Sheepishly he rubbed the back of his neck.

 

"Sorry. By habit I tend to do as much as possible manually so I don't find myself acting like Anuie, poofing around all the time."

 

"I do not poof!" Mephisto growled out from somewhere near the floor. "What I do are manly and complicated feats of magical skill."

 

"You go poof, literally. I have been hearing you poof for thousands of years Anuie, you can't deny it." Amaimon said with a perfectly straight face.

 

"What you hear and what I DO are NOT the same thing Amaimon, so don't think to lecture me!" Mephisto had gained his feet with the help of Rin and Yukio and was busy 'poofing' the room to rights while being supported between the two of them.

 

"Me lecture you! Of course, who else is going to take up the task? Seriously Aniue, how could you!?"

 

"How could I what precisely?" Mephisto snapped out as the tea service righted itself, liquid spooling up into the spout in a blatant denial of gravity.

 

Harry spoke up in a clear, piercing voice "There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water."

 

"They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure. And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him."

 

"Yes, yes. Brava my lady, excellent recitation of a wizarding classic. My, congratulations to you for having such a good memory, have you considered training as an aria?"

 

"Anuie." Amaimon interjected before Harry could retort.

 

"What!" Mephisto snarled finally loosing his cool façade. Following Amaimon's meaningful glance down at Harry he exclaimed "That was centuries ago! You can't expect me to be held accountable for the vagaries of fate! Besides, I made sure to take reasonable precautions to keep them separated!"

 

"Centuries ago!" Harry shrieked startling Amaimon who was still standing very close. "As I recall it, 16 years ago you stood in front of me and verified their authenticity and said nothing, absolutely nothing of the consequences of bringing them together!"

 

Mephisto pushed himself completely onto his own two feet, shaking off Yukio and Rin's easily as they were both stunned into shocked silence by Harry's outburst.

 

"The question posed to me was two fold and quite weighty. For the sake of brevity and my poor head I shall paraphrase succinctly." Mephisto drew himself up to his full height and stabbed the air with a single long finger.

 

"Question one asked of Lord Faust, "Are they the real thing?" and question two "Will they enable the bearer to survive certain death?" and the truthful answer to both those questions was YES!"

 

"Correct me if I am wrong, assuming you remember that meeting as well as I do, yes was the answer I gave." He drew his lips back sneering angrily with his fangs fully exposed.

 

"As far as the rest of it is concerned I was only obligated, per my usual contract, to answer questions asked directly and like hell was I going to give Albus, hurenscheiße "too many  names" Dumbledore information for free! Das ist mir Scheiß egal if you think that makes me the reason for your unasked for elevation! By all means, continue to indulge your violent impulses." 

 

Suddenly his voice dropped into a deep and frightening register at odds with his usual jovial nature.

 

"But I want you to understand, right now, that you won't surprise me a second time." Mephisto's green eyes narrowed dangerously as he maintained visual contact with Harry's similarly hued orbs. 

 

"The next time, if there is a next time, I will fight back to the full extent of my ability, and while you may find our power is evenly matched I have centuries of experience to draw on. Do not, I iterate, DO NOT expect me to feel sorry for you. I don't believe I am physically capable of it!"

 

"ESPECIALLY not over a halved burden you have suffered with for a scant handful of years when I bore the full mantle of that power for eons!" 

 

Panting, Mephisto lowered himself into his newly restored chair and removed his rumpled and ruined cravat with a pained wheeze.

 

Harry scowled at her reflection in the floor as Amaimon patted her shoulder consolingly.

 

"It always comes back to fucking Dumbledore." She spat out venomously.

 

Mephisto let out a startled laugh. "No thank you!" He snorted, some of his usual geniality creeping back in. "Could you imagine, it would be like romancing shoe leather! I am fairly certain there are sarcophagi with more robust occupants than the sainted headmaster of Hogwarts."

 

Trying to avoid picturing anything to do directly with the body of Albus Dumbledore Harry grimaced as her thoughts skipped tangentially landing on something equally awful. 

 

"I think I may need brain bleach after this but did you ever wonder if his underwear were as horrible as his robes? He wore a puce and mustard yellow ensemble once with chartreuse, animated, anatomically correct, frolicking trolls. I swear, seeing it up close was enough to induce an epileptic fit."

 

Mephisto smiled widely.

 

"That was a favorite of his in the 1960's as I recall. By the end of that particular ICW summit, where he wore it every day I might add, I kindly offered to burn it off of his body as a sort of public service to save us all from the agony of having to look at it another minute." 

 

"I was advised against that particular course of action by a reliable source who swore that as a "traditional wizard" he wore absolutely nothing underneath and wanted to spare me from the potential consequences of my hasty proposal."

 

Harry gagged loudly. "Four years and the only thing that spared my eyes from being assaulted three times a day was Draco Malfoy's great greasy blond head!"

 

Mephisto leaned back and laughed at that.

 

"His hair was rather awful wasn't it!? I can't say I am entirely sad to hear he had passed but what a waste. He had so much potential and squandered it all on the folly of his forebears." 

 

He gave Harry an coolly appraising look. "You know, if you hadn't been so keen to throw yourself on the chopping block for the sake of ending Mr. Riddle we wouldn't be here now having this conversation."

 

"As I said before, there were precautions taken, failsafes if you will, to ensure that even if someone like Albus could obtain all three hallows he would never be able to utilize them in tandem."

 

Harry swallowed hard, recognizing the olive branch being extended, she approached the chair opposite Mephisto. Upon receiving his his subtle permission to sit she arranged her robes daintily and perched on the edge of the seat like a proper lady.

 

The boys followed suit, the twins akwardly taking chairs while Amaimon sprawled with his feet kicked up on the back of the settee. Yukio quietly took the incentive to began serving tea, giving Amaimon a generous helping of sugar in his cup before splashing a small amount of tea in after. Rin watched curiously as Amaimon alternately slurped and crunched his way through the contents of his cup before shrugging and turning to his own drink.

 

After everyone had settled in comfortably with their tea things Yukio coughed softly to break the silence.

 

Looking at Mephisto's haughty but ultimately guarded expression Yukio decided to ignore the tension between his familiar and his recently affirmed older brother. Clearing his throat a scond time he decided on a topic to explore. "Anuie?" At Yukio's formal address Rin gave Yukio a sharp glance that Yukio ignored, "You mentioned the word "Hallow" as in holy. Are we talking about religious artifacts? Also, how can something that has been blessed have any kind of safeguards or restrictions on it's use as long as it isn't used counter to it's purpose, which would simply destroy the object?"

 

Surprisingly it was Amaimon who spoke up from the nearly upside down position he had settled in on the settee. 

 

"Symbols and the abstract concepts they encode are especially important to us. In a way you could say we couldn't exist here without them, even the most powerful of us need the additional stability of an intrinsic anchor." 

 

He deadpanned his delivery in a way that would have made a corpse seem ebullient by comparison as he droned on.

 

"Very few of us were granted a corporeal form in this world. We exist, primarily, as ideas, or concepts separate and distinct from humanity. Humans may wonder what dark is, or what light is but we know who the light belongs to, who manifests the darkness. For example, one of the most powerful concepts since time immemorial has been mortal death, which is just physical decay brought about by the arrow of time and it's unavoidable companions, change and entropy."

 

He raised a sharply clawed index finger to tap on his lips for a moment before continuing. 

 

"But underlying that seemingly simple concept is the constant dynamic of the pull of the void and the push of creation, which is nothing less than the warp and weft of the fabric of reality as we know it."

 

Mephisto shifted subtly in his chair blushing brightly "Amaimon, you are not typically this verbose or flattering."

 

Amaimon chewed thoughtfully on one long tapered thumb nail. "Yes, but I am telling the truth and I can't think of simpler way to explain. Aniue is Samael the angel of death."

 

"Was!" Mephisto interjected forcefully "Past tense! I gave it up, blood, bone and spirit." he spat out viciously "Separate and bound, one for each of three brothers who had earned the title harbinger of doom more surely than I ever could!"

 

Mephisto passed a hand wearily over his eyes. "I like humanity as a whole and some individual humans more than others but in general when they die it grieves me."

 

He then shook out his rumpled cravat and passed his hand over the damaged material making it literally new again.

 

"All that art, literature, discovery and creativity gone, snuffed out forever more. Surely, I hear you protesting in your mind, that can't be so! One human is much like another biologically speaking but consider this; once Leonardo died there were no more great paintings or inventions by Leonardo. The entirety of his spirit, all that potential just suddenly ceased to exist. His uniqueness eclipsed by an unfeeling universe." 

 

He waved his cravat around vaguely as if dispersing a ghostly vapor before retying it deftly around his neck.

 

"Eternity is dreadfully boring business and humans are the small bumps in the road that make the journey slightly interesting or even worthwhile." 

 

Mephisto paused his monologueing long to take a sip of his tea and appraise his rapt audience with a wicked eye.

 

"Certainly my dear Johannes allowed me to carry on the torch in his stead, but what you see here is but a carefully cultivated candle flame, and I am embarrassed to confess, entirely derivative when compared to the original man." He sniffed.

 

"Still, one does one's best with the gifts we are given."

 

"That is very true, it is hard enough to find a host that is compatible with us at all and then to cultivate a relationship that allows for the transfer of a host body is another major obstacle." Amaimon placed a hand on his chest. "I for one am quite happy to have this body."

 

Rin shuddered silently thinking of Shiro's last moments being forcibly possessed by Satan as the power of the god of Gehenna cracked his mortal body as surely as a hammer blow would crack an egg.

 

"Wait a minute. I thought Amaimon said you were the angel of death and didn't need a host body." Rin addressed Mephisto aggressively, his mind racing ahead at the implications of needing a host body. "Also, wouldn't you be too powerful, even if you did need a host there is no way you would be able to possess someone without them dying immediately."

 

Mephisto gave him a flat look. "Generally Rin, I find your naïveté and boyish charm delightfully möe but in this instance I need you to listen up and focus on understanding this because I will not repeat myself a third time."

 

Rin had the decency to look slightly abashed at Mephisto's comparatively mild reprimand. 

 

Spreading the pale slender fingers of his right hand wide, Mephisto momentarily checked his palm and claws for lingering damage. Yukio realized suddenly that this was the first time he had ever seen the other demon without gloves on. 

 

Distracted by the delicate play of tendons moving in Mephisto's wrist Yukio looked up when the movement ceased and found himself caught out staring by his Anuie's narrow eyed veridian glare. Yukio blushed slightly and fidgeted guilty until Mephisto's expression relaxed giving him an almost wistful look. 

 

Mephisto spared Yukio one last ambiguous glance before speaking in a softly modulated voice.

 

"Truthfully at one point things got a bit out of hand. Generally speaking being the angel of death isn't much of a job." 

 

"Things die all the time and they don't exactly need my assistance to do so. Aside from a few earlier mandated extinction events I spent my days enjoying my time in Assaiah as much as I was able. Unfortunately, having a form that is compatible with Assiah doesn't automatically equal having a form that is able to, as you would say 'blend in'." He wiggled his fingers obnoxiously in air quotes.

 

"So what, you were like some hideous monster?" Run blurted out, his tail rippling anxiously under the cloth of his uniform shirt.

 

Yukio sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Rin, it's more likely that he resembled some of the earlier descriptions of angels from the book of Enoch as opposed to later revisionist scriptures."

 

"Yes, yes." Mephisto waved a dismissive hand in the air "Unbearably beautiful to gaze upon, terrifying in close proximity and the wings, while not the disgusting white feathery dross of later human mythology, they were certainly...." he paused contemplatively "....conspicuous. 

 

"Suffice it to say, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. I had carved out a nearly perfect existence and was loathe to return to my previous state of formless ambiguity and perfect oneness with creation." He shivered lightly.

 

"Trust me, it may sound like a peaceful idyll, but counter intuitively it is equivalent to being tossed into more crowded version of the void of limbo with the lovely addition of a total loss of self. No thought, no communication, no feeling, just an omnipresent oneness that smothers and clings."

 

Harry shuddered remembering her own experience through the veil.

 

Mephisto cracked a crooked grin at Harry's physical reaction. "As terrible as the void of limbo is at least you had enough sense remaining to know how terrible it was."

 

He continued in a serious mein.

 

"I cloaked myself in the fabric of reality as only I could do, hiding my form from all and sundry. Gradually I drifted away from my original purpose. The meddling of the Watchers couldn't be undone and no amount of water could turn back the clock for humanity." 

 

"Humans learned to kill quite proficiently and set about doing so with little to no provocation." He shrugged "Essentially I was made redundant." 

 

At this Harry had to stifle a hysterical laugh at the mental image of the angel of death getting a notice of termination from creation.

 

Mephisto took a sip of his tea and frowned at the cold dregs in his cup. Twiddling his fingers in a vaguely counter clockwise direction, he took a satisfied sip of his freshly renewed, piping hot tea and sighed.

 

"For the most part, barring a natural disaster." He gestured to Amaimon who nodded slowly in acknowledgement of his own role in the story "It was all nicely balanced. Humans were born, humans died and in between 'a posse ad esse'." He spread his hands in a placating gesture.

 

"Please don't misunderstand, I am not trying be flippant about the value of human life. I feel I have already sufficiently explained my opinion on the matter. Please consider that I am just trying to give you a sense of scale."

 

He gestured to Harry. "There may be others who take umbrage with what I am about to share with you. They will argue endlessly but I am being truthful, this is not my opinion, it is a fact. 

 

The by blows of Watcher interference with humanity were not entirely eradicated. Some giants persisted, all though greatly reduced in stature. So called magical creatures and lesser demons procreated where compatible giving rise to bio diversity outside the scope of the original program. Humanoid descendents of the first generation of nephilium hid among the general human population, breeding prolifically and eventually creating the recessive genetics that would express in particular family lines to create humans with 'magical' capabilities."

 

He casually sipped his tea before continuing. "Having magic doesn't make a human better or wiser, and some of the nephilium, their descendents included, are truly monstrous despite their unassuming packaging. What magical ability truly does is give an individual human tremendous ability to create, or destroy. From a societal perspective it is a perpetual disaster on the verge of happening in all times and all places."

 

He paused dramatically to allow time for his point to hit home. 

 

"As I mentioned, at one point things got out of hand. Three brothers, of nephilium descent, conspired to engineer a disease that would only effect those humans whose ancestry was primarily human. Those who carried enough nephillium genetics for them to express magical ability, no matter how mean, would be spared. As our kind is generally immune to the negative effects of inbreeding simply because of our closer connection to raw creation, it wasn't an altogether terrible plan."

 

Rin began to make protesting noises but Mephisto cut him off. "It was a decent plan for the sole reason that it would have worked, in all other aspects it was absolutely abhorrent. Whole population centers were eradicated in days, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the outbreaks of epidemic. It was on a global scale and spread out temporally. It took quite a lot of my considerable resources to track the pandemic down to the brothers Peverell as they called themselves, ironically so as they identified with either etymology of the name."

 

Not seeing the dawning of understanding he hastened to explain. "As either a euphemism for the bastardly, diminutive male children of the nephilium, apropos as the name is a bastardization in of itself, or as the hot blooded youth out to 'mark the hours, every one'." at this Harry sucked in a loud breath.

 

"They had time turners!" She exclaimed in a horror struck voice.

 

"Indeed, and quite advanced ones too. I eventually managed to convince the ICW to create a broad taboo on time travel going back more than a few hours and a hard ban on time travel moving forwards but I was never able to account for all of the Peverell devices, though it is likely they simply unmade themselves along with any potential passengers. I made it a point to keep an eye on some of the more ancient pureblood houses who might feasibly have such an artifact stashed in a vault." At this he made a small expression of distaste and continued.

 

"When I did finally catch up to them, I admit to being sufficiently angry enough to deliver a very nasty bloodline curse at the cost of halving my own powers." Mephisto smiled wickedly into the middle distance not noticing Harry's growing discomfort.  

 

"The fairy tale captures the general theme but not quite the depth of my sacrifices. I removed a somewhat useless bone from a somewhat sensitive place. I will leave it up to your imagination to guess which one from where." He said with a leer and a wink.

 

"Then I encouraged it to soak up my rage and killing intent eventually making a magical conduit of unsurpassed power." He paused to drink again.

 

"Then I bled myself nearly dry and compressed my collected blood using a complicated space time event of my own creation to generate a stone with the power to recall an individual soul from beyond the veil. By creating a connection to the target soul at an earlier point in it's personal timeline, specifically a point from before the death of it's physical body, the stone creates a small, self contained paradox that feeds off the user's potential life force." He smiled nastily."I was always rather proud of how that turned out."

 

Rubbing his hands together gleefully he continued. "And for the last, but certainty not least I pulled apart the threads of the reality I had become accustomed to cloaking myself in. I rewove it to permanently include the physical reality of my wings, effectively folding them into a space separate from my body." At this he turned his focus directly on a somewhat green looking Harry.

 

"I believe you can continue from here on, yes?"

 

Harry swallowed her tea, gone stone cold, in a nervous gulp and taking in the hard, challenging look in Mephisto's eyes began to talk.

 

"The first brother, drunk on the power of the unbeatable wand, boasted of his infallible skill the night before he was to compete in a dueling tournament. A competitor took it upon himself to slit the brothers throat in his sleep, taking the wand and starting a precedence in the way the wand was passed on. Murder by murder, the wand passed from one master to another, cutting a bloody swath through wizarding history." 

 

Harry looked down at her hands.

 

"My headmaster confided to me that he killed his own lover to obtain it though I have heard various conflicting accounts of that duel. Ironically, the wand only needs to be taken by force to change masters, the killing isn't necessary but somehow everyone prior to me killed to obtain it."

 

Harry looked to Mephisto to see what he thought of her version of events, he nodded and indicated for her to continue.

 

"The second brother was glad to obtain the stone. His wife had died in child birth and he longed to to see her and tell her about their child who was growing swiftly. He used the stone to call her back but everytime he did she seemed confused and scared by his words. Eventually he gave up trying to seek closure and settled for what pleasure he could obtain from the company of her spirit. The more he drew her forwards, the more she pulled him back until he was completely living in the past. Ignoring his family, including his child, and then eventually his own body. He faded away and slipped quietly into death." 

 

Harry paused at the vicious smile that flitted across Mephisto's face.

 

"Don't let my enjoyment stop you my dear, continue." He waved her on magnanimously. 

 

"Anyone who has used the stone has been driven mad by it until they either actively or passively commit suicide." She closed her eyes for a moment as if she was reliving a painful memory.

 

"I encountered an enchanted mirror when I was eleven that showed nothing less than the deepest innermost desire of the person who looked into it. It was an insidious contraption that men, driven mad by the contents of their heart, would wither away in front of. All I ever saw in the mirror, of my own volition, was my family, intact, alive and happy. The parents I was robbed of, the grandparents who died early in the war. The potential younger siblings I never actually had." She shook her head firmly.

 

"To be honest I have never actively used the stone." a fine tremor ran through her body at the thought. 

 

"I am terrified of what may happen if I were to actually summon my real family members."

 

Harry's shaking hands made her teacup rattle on it's saucer. She set it on the table and folded her arms together defensively.

 

"I think what I imagined as a child will always be better than the truth, and sometimes it is better to not know, especially if the knowledge won't actually make a difference for anyone but myself."

 

"And the cloak?" Rin asked plainly.

 

"It was never bequeathed to a female child before it came to me, which is somewhat astonishing because up to the time that I was born the Potter family always had sons. In fact this was such a well established "fact" that the entire wizarding world was laboring under the delusion that I was a boy which persisted well into my first year at Hogwarts despite all evidence to the contrary."

 

"I don't know why you would be upset by that, you would make a lovely boy." Mephisto said after studying her appraisingly.

 

"Uh, no thanks! Not with this hair." Gesturing to her wild red locks "Everyone would think I was a Weasley." She said with a sneer almost worthy of the now, defunct, house of Malfoy.

 

"Not quite the correct shade for a Weasley." Mephisto laughed "If you were that worried about it you could always dye your hair black."

 

Harry chose to ignore the potential mine field of Mephisto's off topic conversational segue and continue with the topic of the cloak.

 

"The cloak was passed down father to son for generations until it made it's way to me. From what I have gleaned from the family grimores it's something of unspoken rule to only use the cloak in adolescence, teenage years at the latest, and generally only for pulling off pranks or schemes of a nefarious nature. Any adults who used it regularly eventually disappeared under mysterious circumstances. I concluded that they were either absorbed by the cloak leaving no trace or permanently removed from time and space relative to ours." 

 

At that Mephisto let out a long chilling trill of laugher. Wiping his eyes he chortled. "Classic! Either is entirely possible, not even I am entirely certain how the cloak works. To a certain extent it is a 'living' artifact and has a sentience of it's own."

 

Mephisto paused "Actually, I hadn't considered the possibility before, but it is likely all three of the hallows are at least semi sentient."

 

Amaimon nodded in agreement. "As the hollows are derived from, consecrated by and symbolic of your power they are ultimately, an extension of your will." Glancing at Harry he amended "Or they were. It is very likely they serve only Angharad-chan now."

 

Rin frowned at the way Amaimon addressed Harry before turning to Mephisto. "Don't you think that's little harsh? Most of the people these 'hallows' have affected had absolutely nothing to do with the three brothers that you set out to punish except they happen to have magic. So why did you leave the hallows loose to run rampant after you got your revenge."

 

Mephisto shrugged nonchalantly "Balance my dear Rin. All said and done those three were responsible for the deaths of nearly 100 million people worldwide and released an illness that, please pardon the pun, still 'plauges' humanity to this day. There has never been enough of wizarding kind to atone for that sin all in one go. This is in essence me being merciful under the rule of 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth'."

 

"Plauge!? Plauge! Are you telling me those three psychos were responsible for the Black Death!? Why the hell didn't you just say so!"

 

Mephisto laid his chin in the palm of his hand and gave Rin a fond smile. "I thought I was doing exactly that. Please tell me where Otouto-chan has missed the point and will be happy to go back to elucidate."

 

"Look here you smarmy asshole clown, that is not what I'm saying!" Rin half raised out of his chair, a blue haze beginning to rise up out of his body.

 

Amaimon clapped his hands together excitedly. "Oooh is Otouto going to play!?"

 

"Rin sit the hell down now!" Yukio commanded, adjusting his glasses while Rin awkwardly sank back into his seat.

 

"Anuie, you mentioned earlier conditions and failsafes for the hallows, can you clarify what you meant by that?"

 

"Certainly Yuki-Chan." Mephisto said with a wink, inciting Rin to growl lowly. The sound ended with a startled squeak as Yukio kicked Rin sharply.

 

"It's quite simple, ingenious really. Each item was keyed to the bloodline of a particular brother, only when all three blood lines united in one would the hallows cease their work. That they have further recognized a new master, above and beyond myself specifically, is quite extraordinary and was certainly not part of my original plan!"

 

Harry frowned and crossed her arms under her bust. "I don't see how it is possible for me to be descended from all three Peverell brothers. The oldest wasn't married, the middle brother had a child but there is no record of what happened to it after he died and the Potter family is clearly descended from the third brother."

 

Mephisto smirked. "My my, how sweetly virginal and naive of you my lady. Even if you haven't personally experienced intimate pleasure you should know by now that marriage has very little to do with procreation." He paused, his eyes lingering on her vulnerable neck before trailing to the swell of her chest where her breasts we being pushed against the sheer fabric panels of her shirt by her folded arms.

 

Coming back to himself he leaned casually against the side of his chair, and bringing a slender hand up to cradle the side of his face he licked his lips wetting them slightly.  

 

"Unless, perhaps you require some hands on education to bring you up to speed on the topic?" He questioning salaciously half into his hand, eyes wickedly sparkling with unbridled lust.

 

Harry flushed a pale white and then colored a burning red but lifted her head haughtily despite her blush.

 

"Are you asking me to pound you into the floor a second time?" she asked sweetly. "I know I am a little inexperienced and it would be an inconvenience for you to sacrifice your body again but I would find it incredibly pleasurable!" Batting her eyes coquettish she spoke in a deliberately childish voice "After all, isn't that the responsibility of the elderly? To instruct the younger generation in the pleasures of life?"

 

Mephisto sagged in his seat like the air in his lungs had suddenly disappeared.

 

"Did she just call me old?" he asked rhetorically. "I mean I know I am long lived but I am certainly not, old?" This voice cracked slightly over the word old and Rin lost it.

 

Laughing Rin pointed at Mephisto "You may not look like it but I bet you are older than dirt!"

 

Mephisto sniffed primly. "Well so long as I don't look it I am content to be aged. Many fine things in life are better with age; wine, cheese, pickles...."

 

"Fermented juice, moldy mammary gland secretions and salty, bitter fruits, just the kind of company I would expect you to keep!" Rin laughed hysterically at his own joke, hugging his sides as tears streamed from his eyes.

 

"I have had quite enough of you!" Mephisto snapped "Yukio, Amaimon, shut him up before I do!"

 

Yukio moved to kick Rin in the leg but was beaten to the punch by Amaimon who had detached and flicked one of his skull and crossbone shaped brass buttons across the table at Rin, nailing him directly in the forehead. Rin crumpled forward clapping his hands to his head with a cry of pain.

 

"Thank you." Mephisto said sincerely. "Cutting to the heart of it, the oldest brother had lain with a whore the night of his death, who, roughly nine months later, bore him a son that she named Godric. Gryffindor was her mother's maiden name and when she sent the boy to be raised by her parents he was granted that surname to separate him legally from his grandfather's legitimate heirs. The second brother had a son named Salazar that was ultimately adopted by his maternal uncle and so raised under his mother's maiden name, Slytherin."

 

Mephisto leaned forwards his eyes intense. "It is no secret that women of the Gryffindor line frequently married Potter men, for several generations until the name of Gryffindor was completely subsumed. The real mystery here is your Slytherin heritage."

 

"I am heir of Slytherin by right of conquest, verified by Goblin rites and law." Harry said firmly.

 

Yukio sighed. "There is no need to feel defensive Harry-chan, please consider the company you are in. We are all sons of Satan here, we are the last beings on the planet who will judge you for who or what you are descended from." Yukio took a steadying breath as Harry turned to look at him.

 

"Harry you mentioned this morning that you mother was adopted. Is it possible that you are a descendent of Slytherin on your Mother's side?"

 

Harry frowned. "I suppose it is possible but the last known blood descendent of Slytherin was Tom Riddle. His mother Merope was a Gaunt and they were notoriously inbred." looking at Mephisto she said "I know you said nephilium genetics makes inbreeding pretty much a non issue but that family was seriously degenerate."

 

Mephisto shrugged. "I never said all descendents of the watchers were desirable beings. I meant only that the aggregation of detrimental traits which would create biological dysfunction in a wholly human organism is a non issue. When active nephilium genes are present the organism is able to compensate for those flaws by subconsciously or consciously tapping into creation, or their magic if you will. The existence of metamorphmagi is a prime example of this principal in action."

 

"A what?" Rin asked.

 

"Wizards who can change their bodies at will." Harry replied succinctly.

 

"What about the Black family Anuie?" Amaimon interjected. "You called Angharad-chan "Lady Potter" but she is "Lady Potter-Black"."

 

Mephisto glanced at Harry questioningly.

 

"Sirius Black died after making me his sole heir. I am a main branch Black by blood through my paternal grandmother Effie so I am the recognized head of house Black." she paused thoughtfully.

 

"And as Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, her son Draco, sister Bellatrix LeStrange nee Black are dead, and Andy and Dora were disowned before my time but haven't been reinstated, my position is incontestable."

 

Mephisto stared off into space with a small smile on his face. 

 

"How fascinating! It is a little known fact that the Black family was once a cadet branch of house Slytherin. There was some to-do about a third son who was frightfully ambitious and managed to wrangle land and a title of his own. The original name was house Black Adder, but with the later vilification of parseltounge the serpent association was dropped in favor of the mononym Black."

 

"There hasn't been a parsletounge in the Black family for at least a hundred years. We always assumed I got it from Riddle's soul shard."

 

Mephisto shook his head. "It is not possible to gain the skill that way. You can learn it like any other language, with some effort but it is impossible to be fluent with all species of serpent and serpent like creatures. Those with sufficient enough nephilium heritage to understand demons are able to understand magical serpents but not mundane ones. Only those in direct bloodline of Lilith are able to, intuitively understand and be understood by all serpents and are true parseltounges."

 

"Then Riddle and I must be related somehow." Harry said faintly.

 

"Marvolo never married but he did produce Morfan and Merope. His intention was to match Morfan and Merope to produce the next generation." Harry made a disgusted face. "Obviously there was precedence and Merope was desperate to escape her fate leading to the use of a contraband love potion on an unsuspecting muggle."

 

She closed her eyes briefly and twisted her hands together, toying absently with the green cloth bandage "This is pure speculation but what if Morfan and Merope were the older children but not the only children. What if there had been one more child, a daughter."

 

Mephisto picked up where Harry left off. "In a family like that a second female child would be killed or rendered sterile so there was no risk of bringing another male "outsider" in if there was no additional male child to make a mated pair." he frowned. "Some of the first generation nephilim adhered to that exact hierarchy. It is possible they had been carrying on this way for centuries."

 

Harry reluctantly shared her next thought "By that logic, and on the very off chance that my mother was a Gaunt descendent that would mean that Tom Riddle's grandmother was possibly my great grandmother; that would make us first cousins one time removed?"

 

She scrubbed her face with her hands. "Riddle hated Morfan and Marvolo for being foul degenerates. He hated Merope for her weaknesses. He hated his father for being a useless muggle. I don't think being a blood relation would have made him decide to spare my mother's life." Harry paused considering "Actually I am almost certain he would have happily murdered me and my father so he could marry her and revive the line of Slytherin in truth."

 

There was a beat of silence and then Harry suddenly made a strangled gasping sound. "Oh Merlin! The Evans's changed my mum's name to Lily Jacinta when she was adopted because the always named their daughters after flowers. Her original name was Lilith Jocasta."

 

"In Greek mythology Merope was was one of the Pleiades and foster mother to Oedipus. Jocasta was the mother and wife of Oedipus. If your mother's name was Lilith and that is your middle name, going by the same naming convention your grandmother's name would have been Jocasta." Yukio added in helpfully.

 

"Ok yeah, but if we are going to take all symbolic name crap literally, cause sure, why not, that would make Morfin actually Odeipus here. Morfin could be a badly mangled version of a name meaning cursed or ill-fated, based off the Latin malefatus. Considering that Odeipus was cursed before he was even born it kinda makes sense." Rin looked up to see his brothers looking at him with various degrees of shock.

 

"Whatcha looking at!?" Rin blushed a little angrily "Sure I'm not Yukio smart but that doesn't mean I'm stupid!"

 

"It's not that exactly Rin, you may be on to something." Yukio said in a neutral tone while observing Harry with concern.

 

She was again bent forward making gagging sounds of distress while Amaimon less than helpfully patted her back with solid sounding whacks. Yukio cringed, and made a mental note to check Harry for bruises later.

 

Harry waved Amaimon off tiredly and sat up with her hands still twisting anxiously "So exactly how many of those un-restricted super time turners do you think escaped your grasp."

 

Mephisto frowned "Uncertain but I can say more than two and less than six."

 

"How likely is it that a family, living hand to mouth, entirely destitute, but still in possession of the stone of Cadmus Peverell in the setting Salazar Slytherin made for it and also in possession of the Locket of Salazar Slytherin would also have at least one of the original Peverell time turners?"

 

Mephisto's eyebrows climbed towards his hairline. "Very likely. Remind me again, when was Lily Potter born?"

 

"The 31st of January, 1960 according to the Potter family grimore but I have no other information about her birth or her original family. I can't even tell you if she was a parseltongue." Harry slumped in her seat.

 

Mephisto rubbed his index finger over his lips in a motion that covered up a small sly smile.

 

"Truthfully my Lady there are some options that, given our earlier altercation, I am loathe to suggest as they demand an unseemly level of trust."

 

Leaning back and uncrossing his legs casually he continued his thoughts.

 

"Outside of my methods it may be possible for you to utilize the stone to call up the hypothetical spirit of Jocasta Gaunt. As her existence is pure speculation it will ether work or it wouldn't."

 

"I won't use the stone unless there is a good chance of success to begin with. I very nearly lost myself to that thrice damned mirror and the likelihood of the stone creating a similar problem is very high, except that the stone can't be hidden away to save me from temptation." She twisted her fingers in a vaguely cupping motion and closed her fist.

 

She she opened her hand a moment later and heavy men's ring rested in her palm. The pale golden band terminated in twin serpent heads holding a curiously dark stone. No shine, no gleam, no sparkle escaped it; any light that fell upon it was trapped it's depths, rendering it a shade of black that was truly the absence of light.

 

"It is always with me, a thought away. I can't take the risk lightly." she looked up from the ring and locked gazes with Mephisto.

 

"What other options do I have?"

 

"Not many I'm afraid." Mephisto replied in a lilting drawl.

 

"We can try scrying, using blood to call blood or I can employ a lost technique developed by the Cyrenaics to analyze the particular 'flavor' of your blood and compare it to what I remember of Tom Riddle's."

 

"Firstly, that is disgusting. Why do you know what Tom Riddle tastes like?" Harry looked a little queasy.

 

"He named himself Voldemort!" Mephisto chortled "Of course I HAD to meet him! The situational irony was too fantastic to pass on the opportunity. I simply posed as the head of a very powerful vampire clan, which wasn't a difficulty for one such as I."

 

"As for the blood of Tom Riddle." Mephisto smiled wickedly "I don't turn away anything that is freely given."

 

Harry squirmed in discomfort before coming to a decision. "Frankly, I'm pants at divination and I don't fancy bleeding enough to fill a scrying bowl for you to fiddle with, so where do you want me?"

 

Mephisto gave Harry a smoldering look through half closed eyes and gestured to his lap.

 

"No fucking way!" Rin yelled angrily

 

Yukio adjusted his glasses reflexively "I'm with Rin on this one Anuie."

 

"Goodness me! I'm not going to sit her in my lap and have my wicked way with her. How cliché!" Mephisto laughed good naturedly.

 

"I am simply being practical; the ability I plan to use is a subtly refined art that requires a relaxed subject and close proximity to be successful."

 

Mephisto briefly closed his eyes and smiled as he opened them.

 

"Amaimon-chan can attest to the fact that I am perfectly capable of being a gentledemon as the situation demands."

 

Rin and Yukio exchanged glances and looked towards Harry who nodded firmly.

 

"Don't worry, Anuie won't mess up." Amaimon said around the nail he was gnawing on.

 

Mephisto's smiled widened. "Wer Honig lecken will, darf die Bienen nicht scheuen, my lady."

 

He gestured graciously, waving her forwards. "Don't worry, I will be very sweet and I promise my sting won't hurt, much."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "So you did all "the hard work" while getting Harry dressed?!"
> 
> "What are you implying Nii-san?"
> 
> "Oh nothing Yuki-chan."
> 
> "Don't call me by that ridiculously childish nickname Nii-san!"
> 
> "But you are just so cute and innocent; after all this is the second time you have had your hands all over Harry and you still insist on being a stick in the mud!"
> 
> "Nii-san! I'm not going to take advantage of a situation like that!"
> 
> "What if she wanted you to? She didn't ask me to help get her dressed."
> 
> "She was being practical, I was already dressed and you weren't."
> 
> "Mmmmm hmmm, she just wanted to get you alone in her room."
> 
> "Do you even hear yourself!? Quit being a pervert, Tou-san raised you better!"
> 
> "Are you kidding!? The old man would be the first one to tell you to cop a feel! I mean, com'on Yukio, BOOBS!"
> 
> "Alright, alright, fine. I conceed your point but that's not very Christianly, I mean, what would Jesus do?"
> 
> "Yukio, we are the literal sons of Satan, you could almost say we are 'anti-christ' based on the circumstances of our birth. I'm pretty sure Jesus has nothing to do with us."
> 
> *sigh* "This is so weird."
> 
> "Welcome to puberty Ototou."
> 
> "Rin."
> 
> "Yes Yukio?"
> 
> "Shut the fuck up before I have to shoot you."
> 
> *eep*
> 
> :::silence:::
> 
> Translation notes:
> 
> hurenscheiße= whore shit
> 
> Das ist mir Scheiß egal= I don't give a shit  
> 
> a posse ad esse = from being possible to being actual 
> 
> Wer Honig lecken will, darf die Bienen nicht scheuen.= Who wants to lick honey must not shy away from the bee.
> 
>  
> 
> BONUS:
> 
> "The sound of hoof beats 'cross the glade,
> 
> Good folk, lock up your son and daughter.
> 
> Beware the deadly flashing blade,
> 
> unless you want to end up shorter.
> 
> Black Adder, Black Adder!
> 
> He rides a pitch black steed.
> 
> Black Adder, Black Adder!
> 
> He's very bad indeed.
> 
> Black: his gloves of finest mole.
> 
> Black: his codpiece made of metal.
> 
> His horse is blacker than a vole;
> 
> his pot is blacker than his kettle.
> 
> Black Adder, Black Adder, with many a cunning plan.
> 
> Black Adder, Black Adder, you horrid little man."
> 
> You will never unsee Rowan Atkinson as a decendent of Slytherin......or at least I know I can never unsee it
> 
> :3


	7. Whiskey, You're The Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mephisto gets to play and Harry gets some unhappy news. Yukio and Rin get whacked by a cosmic 2x4 while Amaimon takes a nap.

Harry stood and quickly stepped around the table, twisting slightly to avoid bashing Amaimon in the head as she passed where he was again lounging upside down on the settee. She slowed to a stop as she reached Mephisto's side.

"Place a knee here and here." he said indicating that she should straddle his lap. Harry blushed and balked slightly.

"Come now." He said soothingly "This is hardly more intimate than our earlier tête-à-tête."

Firming her resolve, Harry grasped one side of the wingback in her hand and gingerly placed her knee alongside his trouser clad thigh. Shifting her weight she hitched her other leg over his lap and gingerly set it down. She hovered awkwardly for a moment before she startled at the feeling of his hands in her hair.

"Relax." He said softly "Your clip has come loose."

He slid the clip out of her hair and grasped it casually between his teeth. Using both hands he carefully carded his long claw like nails through her mid length tresses, teasing out any little knots or snarls he encountered. Once her locks were all going somewhat in the same direction he lighty scritched his nails along her scalp.

Harry moaned quietly and then froze in mortification. She knew she wasn't supposed to enjoy this but dammit it felt really nice to be touched. When the only indication that anyone had heard her was a subtle tilt to Mephisto's lips she gave it up as bad job and let herself go.

She barely noticed when he transitioned from massaging her scalp to braiding her hair as she sank deeper into a sort of sleepy lassitude.  

She kept her eyes fixed on the pulse in his throat as he worked, and observed, objectively, the multitude of individual purple hairs that collectively was his pointed goatee.

Coming to the end of his self appointed task Mephisto reclipped the loose end of her hair leaving her with an elegant braided crown. He gently pulled her closer to lean against the right side of his chest and cupped her right hand in his left.

Bringing their joined hands to his lips, he bit down on the fleshy edge of her thumb before she could react enough to pull her hand away. Some distant part of Harry registered surprise at the fact that his teeth sliding into her skin barely hurt.

The sensation was an almost pleasurable one, akin to scratching an itch a little too hard for too long.

Harry shivered subtly and let slip another barely audible moan as she felt him shiver in return.

Mephisto enjoyed weight of her thumb, roughed slightly by calluses, pressing down on his tongue. Her blood bubbling up from the scored flesh warmed and numbed him like a fine whiskey.

After several long moments where he worried her digit with teeth and tongue, riding a feeling of subtle but deep arousal, he began to be able to pick apart the bouquet of her life's blood.

He sighed appreciatively, aside from the pervasive umami of mammalian blood there was the crisp sugary sweetness of phoenix tears and the edge of something mineral, almost metallic that made him think of dark warm caves and water dripping down stalactites.

Extremely dilute Basilisk venom he surmised. Below that salient feature was a note of something peppery and green that he thought would be quite delightful with venison.  

He rippled his tounge allowing her flavor to overtake his senses, searching for a particular combination he remembered well.

The subtle dewiness on the wind, seasoned with the exhalation of sparse night blooming flowers with a hint of rich red clay, delicately balanced against bright crisp flames, burning down into smokey, smoldering ash dissolving in a vast blue sea, bubbled away effervescently on his palate.

How delightful!

Now all that was left was....ahhhh there it is, he hummed happily as the memory rushed forward in his mind.

....the salt riming her flesh caught in his teeth as he hovered over her supine form for a moment before pressing down and sinking in....a subtle resinous presence of amber, cedar, frankincense and myrrh complimented the clean muskiness of her body as she arched and gasped in his arms whispering terms of endearment.....screaming words of encouragement....unspoken declarations of love as he brushed her long vermillion strands away from where they had covered her face and watched her glowing viridian eyes flutter shut as she worked through the crest of her passion....he discovered his passion was also near at hand and hastened to....give pause and realize he was hideously close to completely embarrassing himself and needed to stop immediately.

Mephisto sighed quietly through his nose forcibly willed his racing heart to slow down. He mentally berated himself for getting carried away and nearly popping off in his trousers.

With a last swipe of his tongue he released Harry's thumb from his mouth and carefully pressed a kiss to the wounds his teeth inflicted.

"Thank you." He said with perfect sincerity.

Allowing her a moment to collect herself he helped her down and turned her over to Rin and Yukio who were hovering impatiently next to his chair.

As Rin and Yukio distracted her by fussing and clucking over her injuries Mephisto and Amaimon shared a long, knowing look before turning their attention elsewhere.

"So, was it worth it?" Rin asked impatiently.

Mephisto smiled licentiously just to see the possessive anger bloom on the younger demon's face before responding in a silky purr. "Absolutely my dear boy, but furthermore I can say with extreme certainty that your somewhat inspired theory is indeed factual."

Ignoring a fuming Rin who was being subtly restrained by similarly aggravated but better controlled Yukio, Mephisto addressed Harry directly.

"My Lady, I cannot say for certain that your maternal grandmother was named Jocasta Gaunt but I can say that Tom Riddle's maternal grandmother and your maternal grandmother are one in the same."

Harry went very pale and still in her chair.

"The flavor I remember from Mr. Riddle's blood is notably stronger in yours perhaps indicating that Morfin was indeed your maternal grandfather." He paused and chuckled before moving into full blown giggles. "Ah ha ha, oh my! Infamous half blood, Harry Potter, champion of the muggleborn, vanquisher of the dark lord Voldemort, is actually a pureblood and the true heir of Slytherin!"

Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he guffawed heartily. "If they found out the wizarding world explode into chaos!"

Mephisto's abrupt change of mood helped Harry shake off her shock and she decided to participate in his humorous speculation.

"Also, consider how they would react to the fact that I was "tried" and "executed" for a mass murder I didn't commit by the established government of magical Great Britain right under the nose of the great Albus Dumbledore. The fact that he deprived me of my rightful place in magical society by illegally placing me with muggles of no blood relation to me, coupled with having the death of Tom Riddle ruled as self defense, would black ball him from politics on an international scale and make me irreproachable. From there it would be bedwork to set me up as Queen."

Mephisto wiped his eyes and spoke soberly. "Say your right words and I can make that happen."

"I appreciate the sentiment but I really can't afford to be any deeper in debt to you."

"Oh?" Mephesto quipped, curiosity coloring his voice. "In what way are you presently indebted to me?"

Harry took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts.

"I spent 15 years after my so called execution in a trap that was originally designed for you. The entire situation came together because of your choices, in both the recent and distant past." 

She brought her hands together and opened her palms showing the ring with it's endlessly black stone cradled between them.

"I was a child, and with a child's sense of justice I cultivated my anger for lack of a better tool. Now that I have been returned to this world I find myself forever changed by this experience."

She clasped her hands flat together, palm to palm as she sent the ring winking out of reality again.

"I have come to understand that you did not intend to cause me harm and any harm you may have inadvertently caused is nullified by your actions which also served to preserve my life."

Harry narrowed her eyes and gave Mephisto a cool look.

"Although you withheld the full scope of your knowledge from me you also withheld it from Dumbledore. If he had known the entire truth he would have killed me himself rather than let this possibility come to pass. He was always afraid of my potential and did his best to stymie me while empowering me just enough to serve his purpose."

Harry's voice took on a lilting formal cadence. "I Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, thrice bound scion of house Peverell, Heir of Slytherin and master of the keli of the Archangel Samael acknowledge a debt owed for bringing injury, unprovoked, upon your person."

Mephisto smiled sharply and formally replied. "I Samael, demon king of Time and Space, Lord of Reality acknowledge the debt owed and ask what you are offering for satisfaction."

"I offer nothing less than a life for a life my Lord." Harry replied just as formally.

"That may prove to be a challenge my Lady, as my life is already quite protected and through my actions so is yours."

"Yes my Lord but consider there is one here who's life is already in jeopardy and whose well being is your charge."

Mephisto's eyes cut over to Rin who began fidgeting uncomfortably under his regard.

"My lord, while your power is great and I do not doubt your ability to foil your enemies' machinations, please consider my proposal. If you allow me to discharge my debt to you in full by becoming the bonded familiar of Okumura Rin I will be empowered to act outside of the constraints that would be imposed upon me if I am only operating as Okumura Yukio's familiar. This exchange would enable you to fulfill your personal desire by proxy while limiting your culpability."

Mephisto narrowed his eyes at Harry's deceptively genial posturing while considering her words.

"It is always nice to be able to add more redundancy to a plan. Of course if Yukio-chan objects to sharing you with Rin-chan I suppose I could just bend you over my knee and spank you for your earlier impertinence."

Mephisto's smile widened in anticipation as he took in Harry's light blush.

"I agree to share Harry-chan with Nii-san!" Yukio exclaimed quickly, alarmed by Mephisto's predatory leering.

"Ah well, another time then." Mephisto winked at Harry before clearing his throat.

"I Samael, demon king of Time and Space, Lord of Reality do hereby declare any debt owed me by the Lady Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, thrice bound scion of house Peverell, heir of Slytherin, master of the keli of....me, is to be discharged in full upon the completion of her bond as familiar to Okumura Rin, as I said it, so shall it be, EINS, ZWEI, DREI!"

As soon as he snapped his fingers there was a blinding flash of light simultaneous with a deafening POOF that was more felt then heard.

"OH! AH HAHAHA! ANIUE YOUR FACE!" Amaimon howled with laughter, sliding off the settee to the floor like all his bones had been removed.

Mephisto was frozen in place, fingers still posed from snapping, looking like he had just bit into a rather lovely looking chocolate only to find out it was, in fact, unsweetened carob.

Mephisto's face transitioned from shocked rigidity to to livid with anger in seconds.

"Pray tell, my youngest brothers." He growled out in a dangerous voice "What exactly just happened?"

Both Yukio and Rin jumped to their feet and began gesturing and talking at the same time. Doing more to distract then actually inform.

After nearly being hit in the side of the head by Rin's tail, which had come completely unbound from his shirt in his agitation, Harry decided to move out of the line of fire.

Stepping over a still prone and giggling Amaimon she took the end of the settee farthest away from Mephisto.

"Stop, stop, just hush both of you!" Mephisto held one hand up palm out and rubbed his aching head with the other.

"Let me see if I understand this properly. Lady Potter is already Rin-chan's familiar because Yukio-chan is now a demon because Lady Potter is his familiar?"

Rin looked at Yukio and shrugged, Yukio sighed and rolled his eyes behind his glasses, Rin nodded and Yukio sighed again.

"Fine." Yukio said resignedly. "Earlier today there was an incident where I lost control of my temper and manifested something that may have been analogous to Rin's flames completely independent of Rin. Rin was on an entirely different floor in the dorm when it happened." 

"All I could see was blue and I ended up moving a large metal tray using accidental magic according to Harry's theory. She was clear about the fact that she was speculating but based on our earlier conversation it is obvious to me that she is correct. What is less straightforward is what happened when we tested my blood. Using the same basic litmus test I have been subjected to for years I ran four tests simultaneously."

Yukio took his glasses off and wiped his eyes. "I have never seen such a violent reaction before, not in any sample I have ever tested for myself or anyone else."

Mephisto leaned forward bracing his elbows on his knees, his early anger wiped away by concern. "What happened when the test reacted Yuki-chan?"

Yukio rubbed at his eyes and sighed. "All four test tubes exploded into blue flames so quickly I barely had time to get out of the way and burned so hot it turned the test tubes into a molten puddle of glass which then caught the desk on fire with normal flames. It's a good thing Rin was standing by with a pitcher of water ready and was able to douse the fire."

"That is strange." Amaimon muttered from where he had pulled himself into an upright position sitting on the floor wedged against Harry's leg and the settee. "Otōsama can decide if his flames will burn or not even if they are not attached to him physically."

"That is an excellent observation Amaimon-chan. Rin-chan do you think your flames are the same way?" Mephisto gave Amaimon a curious look as he was questioning Rin.

Amaimon had just discovered the embroidery on Harry's outer robe and was amusing himself by watching the flowers bloom and die only to sprout again. This made it look as though Amaimon was staring intently up at Harry's breasts from where Mephisto was sitting, adding an additional layer of strangeness to already calamitous evening.

Rin noticed Mephisto noticing Amaimon and kicked his foot around the end of the table catching Amaimon in the ankle with his boot. "Quit being a pervert!" He hissed.

Amaimon simply hissed back baring his fangs and defiantly laid his head against Harry's knee.

Harry rolled her eyes. "It's fine Rin, if he does something I don't appreciate I will deal with it myself."

"Indeed." Mephisto drawled flatly. "I believe I was inquiring about your control of the blue flames?"

"Uh yeah, well not so much control right now because I have been working mostly on not bursting into flame constantly but you were there with Yukio and that big hobgoblin and Yukio was real close and didn't even feel warm. So yeah, I think if I had more practice I could control what burned and what didn't, how hot things burned, I dunno, stuff like that I guess?" Rin trailed off looking at Yukio who was sitting down again, this time with his hands pressed against his eyes.

Yukio spoke from between his hands sounding slightly muffled for it. "I feel like we are missing something important here. I'm not sure exactly what, it's on the tip of my tongue but I can't for the life of me get it out." He lifted his head to look blearily at Mephisto.

"After the fire I took a shower and while I was getting dressed I could feel something going on with Nii-san. That isn't the first time either, another time that happened recently is the day Tou-san died. I could feel Rin's emotions like they were my own, and with mine on top of that I damn near had a heart attack trying to get home to the monastery." Yukio rubbed his hands together anxiously.

"This afternoon while I was getting dressed I felt Nii-san get really happy and then hurt really badly. I hurried back to the our room and found out that Nii-san had just completed a familiar bond with Harry using the same ritual I did."

"And whose idea was that?" Mephisto asked sharply.

"Mine." Harry said. "For all the reasons I gave you before and more."

"I find it hard to believe." Mephisto crossed his arms. "Don't you think you are taking the Saint Potter shtick a little too seriously?"

"Look here, I'm not going to loose my temper a second time just to give you a bloody opening to extract a punishment or a favor from me. We are perfectly square now and we can move forward as allies or you can continue to be hostile prick because you think I tricked you."

Harry glared at Mephisto. "I really don't care if you are mad at me or if you just aren't used to being on even ground with anyone and don't know how to cope. What I do care about is what Yukio cares about and Yukio cares about Rin." 

Harry sent Rin and Yukio a smile that Yukio could barely see without his glasses, but he didn't need to see it to feel the warmth that blossomed in his chest.

"What do you know about identical twins born with magic?" Harry abruptly asked Mephisto. 

"Why, what are you trying to imply?" Mephisto said torn between feeling irritated and wanting to give the impression that he was above it.

"Yukio what is the difference, medically speaking, between identical twins and fraternal twins." Harry asked.

Yukio cleaned his glasses off on the edge of his tie and replaced them on his face.

"Ah well, identical twins are monozygotic meaning that they develop from the same fertilized egg or zygote. Fraternal twins are dizygotic meaning they are developed from their own egg cells fertilized by individual sperm cells."

"Who was there when you were born." Harry asked.

Yukio wet his lips nervously "According to Tou-san he and Anuie arrived shortly after I was born. Rin was already swaddled and his umbilical chord cut, he had his blue flames and minor demonic traits, while I was entirely human looking. Our birth mother was having trouble passing the placenta and was hemorrhaging badly. She died of blood loss."

Deciding he was bored with his youngest brother's human sounding drama Amaimon crankily rubbed his achingly empty belly and climbed completely onto the settee. Without asking he dropped his head in Harry's lap and let his feet dangle over the arm rest, coming perilously close to kicking Mephisto. "Wake me when it's time to eat."

Harry oofed slightly as Amaimon accidentally elbowed her in the stomach while trying to get comfortable. Rin shot him a dirty look but by then Amaimon had already shut his eyes and was breathing deeply.

"I don't mean to be cruel but I need to know for certain. Exactly how many placentas were there, one or two?" Harry asked with a slight wheeze from getting the business end of Amaimons elbow in the gut.

Yukio looked at Mephisto pleadingly. Mephisto sighed.

"There was only the one." He affirmed.

Harry nodded. "That's what I thought. Rin and Yukio are actually identical twins."

Yukio spluttered in shock while Rin blurted out "But we look totally different! Most people don't even think we are twins!"

Mephisto made an inarticulate sound of frustration. The cool facade had been pulling back together was completely abandoned. 

"Das Auge sieht weit, der Verstand noch weiter! Why did I not realize before?" he groaned into his hands.

"Der Schein trügt....." Mephisto sighed slouching down in his chair and putting his feet up on the table "That's it, I'm so done with today."

"Cheers, got any fire whisky?" 

Harry held out her hand just in time to catch the bottle that poofed into existence. She lifted it to the light and saw that despite being previously opened it was almost completely full.

Popping the top and taking a long pull she sighed happily and belched a massive fireball over Amaimon's head.

"Don't do that too close, you'll mess up my hair!" Amaimon grumbled sleepily.

She shrugged and wandlessly sent the bottle bobbing along to Mephisto who wasted no time in taking a drink, or two, before he began to talk. 

"Shiro-chan wasn't a fully qualified medical doctor but he was close to it. One he realized Yuri-chan had retained the placenta he worked hard to help her get it out." 

"There was no progress and it became clear that the placenta was still attached. We encouraged her to breastfeed to stimulate her womb wile we quietly panicked. Yuri-chan had lost a tremendous amount of blood by that point." 

Mephisto frowned sadly before he took another deep pull from the bottle.

"We discussed our options with Yuri-Chan and she begged us to preserve the life of her babies, even if it meant her death. Rather then tear down her wards on the cave so I could transport her to a hospital we watched her die inch by inch." 

He took one last swig off the bottle before sending it back over to Harry.

Harry drank her share and then held it out for Rin to take. He was pale and shaky, Yukio didn't look much better but Rin was closest.

Rin took the bottle and drank a measure before passing it to Yukio, who sniffed the bottle with an odd expression before simply handing it to Mephisto.

Mephisto accepted the fire whisky back gratefully and in between mouthfuls he expressed his regrets. 

"We miscalculated grievously in that we did not know to expect twins, we thought we still had two weeks to prepare, instead the children got there before we did."

"The decision to bind Rin's demonic powers was made and I performed the ritual for Rin-chan." Chuckling at his own hubris he continued speaking.

"It is clear to me now that I should have expanded the ritual to include Yukio-chan."

"Why? I was born completely human, wasn't I?" Yukio asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

Mephisto didn't answer instead he passed the bottle to Harry and looked away. Harry took it as her turn to carry the conversation.

"Yukio, we have already established that magical humans are humans with nephilium ancestry. You and your twin are the sons of the god of Gehenna and a human witch." 

Mephisto did not look in their direction but he did nod in agreement with her inference.

"I think it is safe to say you are both magical, not just Rin despite your different appearance. Twins born with magic often have unique, if a bit strange abilities particular to twins. But identical twins are a whole different kettle of fish."

"I went to school with the Weasley twins who were consummate pranksters. They bragged to me once that they started out on the path of the trickster when they were just tiny tots."

"Apparently their parents thought only one of the twins was magical because when they would cast a basic monitoring spell it would only work on one of the twins, never both. That particular spell requires the ambient magic of the person being monitored to work."

Harry paused to drink lustily before continuing. 

"They despaired; a non magical child born into a magical family is generally considered a terrible thing but they were determined to love them both the same."

"One day they had set the boys down in separate cots for a nap, when they came back the boys were awake and playing catch be levitating their toys from one side of the room to the other. Their mother cast the monitoring spell but the spell got confused, sometimes it would give readings for one brother and sometimes the other but never both at the same time."

"The phenomenon is a known secret and taboo to discuss in wizarding society. Some of the more...esoteric books in the Black library give warnings about creating thralls of those who's 'animus' is in excess of 'their vessel'."

"At first glance this could be interpreted to mean an individual who is great of spirit, motivation, will or wrath. A later annotation decrying that those 'twinned in body and spirit' are 'injurus to the caster' by reversing the direction of their will suggests something different."

Harry absently toyed with the green spike of Amaimons hair until he sleepily batted away her hand.

She sighed. "I don't know a tactful way to say this but the anecdotal evidence suggests that Rin and Yukio share one soul between them."

"Lord Faust, when you sealed Rin without Yukio you cut Rin off from most of his magic but left enough free to support him physically, yes?"

Mephisto nodded avoiding her eyes. 

Harry continued elucidating her theory "There were allowances made for Rin's development, the seal would have had a detrimental impact on Yukio. Magic has a way, like water, of finding any crack, any weakness, and when stymied or subdued it lashes out, violently."

Rin, who had up to this point stayed quiet blurted out his thoughts.

"Bullshit! Yukio has always been the good one. I'm the one getting into fights and breaking shit. I'm the one everyone called a....monster." Rin's voice dropped off to a whisper.

Yukio made a pained sound from behind his hands. "Nii-san, all of this is making a lot of sense. I was always very weak and sick when we were younger."

"Yeah but you are fine now, hell you are bigger than me and even if you aren't as strong your stamina is ridiculous!"

Yukio shook his head. "Something changed after I started training as an exorcist. Before then I would get winded easily, even walking too quickly would wear me out. For a while it looked like I was developing into an asthmatic."

Harry stared at the bottle in her hand with a troubled expression. Rin started to argue with Yukio but was startled fom his train of thought by Harry abruptly standing with the bottle in her hand. Amaimon squawked indignantly as he tumbled to the floor.

Harry stalked around the seating arrangement to stand in front of a slightly bleary eyed Mephisto.

"When I was newly summoned Rin told me we were at True Cross Academy and earlier Yukio mentioned that you are the director of the Japan branch of the True Cross Order. You don't have to answer, if you are you can't answer anyway, so I am going to say there is a secret here and you are the keeper." Harry drank deeply from the bottle and pressed it into Mephisto's hand.

He drank automatically after her and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.

"You have a keen mind my Lady."

Harry laughed "If you think I'm good, you would have loved Hermione. She would have figured this out yesterday and would have already been diagramming your ward matrix!"

Grabbing the bottle she perched on the arm of his chair and quaffed a measure.

"There is a tremendous amount of ambient magic here and your wards are like this bottle. This effect has been sustaining Yukio, essentially he is soaking up the excess, enough to get by at any rate."

She tapped the side of the bottle creating a high pitched ringing tone that cut the air like a knife.

Amaimon roused and irritated, reached the limit of his patience. He lept over the table with a snarl, snatched the firewhisky from Harry's hand and swung her up on his shoulder.

"We are going to the dining room now or I am taking Angharad-chan out to eat without you." He bared his teeth at Mephisto threateningly.

Mephisto blinked and held up his hands.

"Peace Amaimon. We'll sup now." Mephisto stood and stumbled slightly.

"Perhaps it would be best to walk the long way."

"You're drunk." Amaimon scowled

Mephisto made a dismissive sound "Hardly, just a little...off balance, this has been an exhausting discussion, no offense." He said looking up at Harry.  

She shrugged from her perch on Amaimon's shoulder and reached out for the bottle that he was holding just out of her reach.

"Stop that or I'll drop you." Amaimon admonished Harry who was overextended and threatening to topple them both.

"Do it! I can bloody well walk!"

"Fine. But I'm carrying the bottle." Amaimon hitched his shoulder and tossed her towards Rin who's quick reflexes kept her from kissing the floor.

Yukio stooped down to scoop up the Kouma sword and hurried to catch up to Mephisto who was already out in the hall.

Rin and a slightly stumbling Harry followed behind with Amaimon bringing up the rear.

*************

Yukio sighed quietly as he shifted the Kouma on his shoulder. He could have given it to Rin after he put Harry down but with the earlier conversation it felt right to carry it himself.

The walk was thankfully a short one. Either Mephisto was subtly manipulating the distance or the sitting room was strategically chosen for it's proximity to the dining room.

Following Mephisto through an open double door Yukio assessed that the dining room was opulent but obviously meant for intimate gatherings.

He was relieved, stepping into a cold formal dining room and pretending that nothing was wrong after having his feelings thoroughly put through the ringer would have been too much. The scale of his emotional turmoil was bordering on the absurd. He felt like laughing, crying and screaming all at the same time.

Absently he thought it was a good thing he had left his pistols at home as he would have shot Mephisto several times over during the course of their discussion.

Amaimon's interest in Harry was perfectly understandable and while he was rude he behaved in a way that made it obvious that he wasn't aware of how improper he was being. Which made Mephisto's behavior much more alarming in context.

Mephisto was a master of human mannerisms, always calculating, always in control, able to fake it in all the ways that mattered. If Mephisto behaved in a way that was disingenuous with his carefully embellished persona it was because he contentiously chose to do so.

Seeing him loose even a small amount of self control was a revelation.

Yukio wondered at the implications of Mephisto making sexual passes at Harry. He was literally eons old, perhaps not strictly speaking in body but he was still significantly older than Harry.

Harry who was biologically 15 years old but with, potentially, the mind of a 30 year old woman.

Was Mephisto reacting to the mind or the body? Certainly Harry looked fairly mature to him, but he was also 15.

Amaimon looked and behaved like a teenager but when he actually applied himself was surprisingly profound in the way that only the truly ancient manage to pull off. Coupled with the comments he had made to their Anuie it was safe to assume he was much older than his body suggested.

A murky quandry; how to apply human morals to demons? Do demons simply break the rules by their existence or do they have their own unique set of social mores? Was it really his business to be concerned, after all Harry was her own person, bond or no, and she could decide for herself what was appropriate.

And then there was this strange tension between himself and Rin. Since his bond with Harry his ability to feel Rin had become increasingly clear. The moment when Rin and Harry completed their bond it was like someone had suddenly turned his tinny mono reception into full surround sound.

He wasn't certain but he got the impression that Rin felt something more too.

It was just all so much. "And I thought yesterday was bad." He quipped to himself.

Quick on the heels of that statement came the thought "Oh my god, this is my life now."

The Kouma sword sat heavily in his lap. On a whim he unfastened the cover enough to be able grasp the hilt.

He could feel it, the barrier Mephisto created, buzzing away beneath his finger tips. It wasn't very different from the anti demon ward on their dormitory and for some reason that thought pissed him off.

For the first time ever, Yukio considered the merits of drinking himself into a stupor.

*********************

Rin was torn between excitement and dread.

Excitement because the clown had splurged on a western style dinner with plenty of meat and the steak Belial set in front of him was worthy of worship. It smelled as good as it looked and like anything from Ukobach's kitchen it was sure to be delicious.

Four bites in despite the fact that it was an exceptional piece of meat his initial euphoria faded and all that was left was the dread.

With a little effort Rin could sense a sort of overlap, where Yukio bled into him, more substantial than an echo but not quite as intense as his own native emotions.

It had always been there, a sort of humming in the background, but now it was so loud it was really hard to ignore.

Rin winced reflexively.

God damn Yukio was stressed or angry about something, but Rin couldn't quite place it.

Scanning the dining room, everyone had more or less dug into their meals except for Harry who had finally liberated the whiskey from Amaimon and was drinking from the bottle again. She tilted her head back and breathed a precisely controlled fireball nearly the ghostly blue shade of his own flames.

Mephisto and Amaimon were impressed and clapped enthusiastically at the display.

The feeling from Yukio suddenly spiked.

Ah, that was it. Rin felt a little foolish, of course Yukio was worried about Harry. Mephisto was the original snake oil salesman and Amaimon was a mostly unknown entity.

True Harry had only been in their lives for a little over two days but those two days had been revolutionary. Besides, she was Yukio's familiar to begin with, it was natural for Yukio to be protective.

Rin mused that it didn't hurt that she was attractive in an exotic kind of way. She was a little short, a little thin and a little nearsighted but her stunning eyes, fiery hair and engaging personality turned those idiosyncrasies into cute quirks of individuality.

He wondered if she had glasses before and if she did, why she didn't have them now.

It was obvious that she got by just fine without them but she had subtle tells like when she was checking the whiskey bottle she held it just a bit too close or how she squinted when she was reading the titles of books that were high on a shelf. The way she scrunched her nose and looked determinedly at whatever she was focusing on was absolutely adorable.

Watching Mephisto hold her and play with her hair was a bit of a revelation. He admitted to himself he was angry mostly because he was scared, they were dealing with some heavy shit and he didn't trust the clown to not hurt her. Once they were finished and he had reassured himself that Harry was emotionally and physically as sound as could be given the circumstances it hit him with whump.

Watching Mephisto hold her and play with her hair had been hot!

He shifted in his seat just enough to adjust himself before exploring the thought further.

He didn't get very far thinking about it before, way too much was going on around him for him to be able to indulge, but now while everyone was more or less occupied by their individual meals he let his mind wander.

Harry's body language had been truly reluctant. There was nothing sexy about that, but the moment where she seemed like she was going to flee had kicked some sort of predatory instinct forward and he found himself tensing, ready to chase her down and catch her.

He envisioned a rough game of tag where the victor got to do more then just brag about their victory.

He chewed his steak a little more enthusiastically as the scenario unfolded in his mind. He substituted other people for Harry in his head but he quickly abandoned the idea of one of the other cram school students.

Shiemi was beautiful but wouldn't last long enough to make the chase interesting.

Reiuji was an annoying punk with enough sex appeal to make him interesting to look at but he wouldn't play the game properly. Not with his two lackies constantly glued to his sides. 

Rin licked his lips and cut another bite of steak. Harry would be a challenge, she would play dirty and go down hard which was what made the idea so exciting.

Yukio was very skilled, years ahead of him in training both physical and mental. He had the tactical mind and the stamina to always be two steps ahead and he would only yield when he was assured of mutual satisfaction.

Rin took a sip of water and nearly choked as he realized that he had just imagined himself in sexual situation with his brother and hadn't been immediately grossed out.

If anything he was getting more turned on. Being a demon was fucking weird.

Rin cleared his throat and attacked his salad.

He might as well follow his train of thought all the way through.

Amaimon. That guy.

He wasn't sure how to feel about Amaimon. It was strange suddenly having two older brothers when he was used to being the oldest.

He didn't mean to be rude but he really wasn't sure how to act, not that Amaimon seemed to care. For all his respectful mannerisms towards Mephisto it was obvious that Amaimon enjoyed being a pain in the ass to their older brother and reveled in Mephisto's discomfort which made him seem pretty cool.

Rin had a feeling that if he had met the guy in any other circumstances he would have hated him on sight, as it was he could admit that his brother was attractive in a casual way. He was strong and physically capable, possessed a quick wit and while he wasn't all that demonstrative with his emotions he had a solid sense of humor.

It was also obvious that he loved to play games, Amaimon would be a challenge but worth the bruises.

Which led him to Mephisto. The older demon was frankly terrifying most of the time, even being in his dog form did nothing to soften the looming sense of otherness he put out.

But when he was holding Harry suckling on her finger hungrily the two of them exchanging quiet moans. Gah!

Rin shivered and reached for a dish of seasoned shrimp and radish.

Tag was not the right game to play with Mephisto. He was the apex predator in their twisted little family which made it all the more astonishing that Harry had been able to best him twice. Usually he was impenetrable as a boulder but something about her made him soften slightly.

Rin considered the possibilities carefully.

Mephisto said that he had sacrificed half of his power, which Harry now had command of. But Harry had her own power before she came into possession of the hallows. Did that mean she was actually more powerful than Mephisto?

Also, even though Mephisto had sundered the hallows from his body eons ago it was clear they still had some sort of energetic or spiritual connection to him.

If Harry and Mephisto were anything like he and Yukio, if there was a sharing of, what did Harry call it?....oh yeah, animus, does that mean Harry could access ALL of Mephisto's powers and vice versa?

Ok, now he was getting a headache. He was going to need to think more on that later.

Still, he chewed thoughtfully, objectively speaking Harry straddling an openly relaxed and obviously aroused Mephisto definitely veered into the land of the pornographic even if he seemed to the only one who noticed.

Yukio's taste in manga had always leaned towards convoluted romantic drama, which Rin didn't mind borrowing as a distraction from doing homework, but was thin in actual depictions of sex. Thankfully he had stumbled on the old man's stash about a year ago and was able to make his way through most of it without being busted.

Living in a monastery with a bunch of priests meant that sex, while not completely taboo was just not a topic of conversation. No gleaning tips from the late night bragging of a bunch of guys drinking beer. No leering and talking about how hot/sexy/fuckable that he/she/they/them are.

Considering that Yukio was training to be a doctor and had an extensive collection of anatomy books the biological aspects of sex had been very thoroughly, very clinically lectured on. But that didn't give him any idea of how sex actually happened between two, or hell, more people.

Filling in the blanks with the old man's thankfully diverse hentai collection had certainly broadened his horizons about what could be considered sex above and beyond insert tab a into slot b.

That's why he had been so embarrassed by Yukio stroking his tail. He had been aroused and fully aware of the implications while Yukio seemed either unaware or unaffected.

Rin amended his thought, Yukio seemed to know exactly what he was doing the second time around and later on he had been looking a little flustered himself, probably from helping Harry with her robe. So was he playing naive or was he just being slow to recognize the attraction above and beyond the titillation of literally yanking his older brother's tail?

Ugh, there was a lot to imagine regarding that particular scenario and Rin wasn't sure this was a good time.

They had collectively plowed through the dinner course and dessert was being brought out.

The conversation was starting to pick up around him and with one last sigh he resolved to worry about this stuff later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear Diary,
> 
> I know I don't look like it but I am actually really happy right now. Imouto is wonderful! She's sweet tasting, squishy, soft and smells like a flower. She let me take a nap on her and she played with my hair without yanking on my spike, which is sensitive. She also beat up Anuie, that was hysterical, I'm never going to let him forget that, so awesome!
> 
>  
> 
> Dear Diary,
> 
> I would smile more often but this body isn't accustomed to it and it feels uncomfortable. Ambrosius was a very unhappy fellow, which is part of the reason he gladly gave up his body to me, though to be fair it was mine to begin with in an indirect way so I don't feel bad at all.
> 
>  
> 
> Dear Diary, 
> 
> Anuie likes to think he's in charge of everything, he's just lucky I like him or he would have to float everywhere, I'm the king of Earth, all of Assiah is my domain.
> 
>  
> 
> Dear Diary, 
> 
> I really like this "Japan" place, everything is very colorful and happy looking, except for when it isn't, anyway it's very different from Gehenna which is nice in it's own way, or at least sections of it can be nice, I like my garden and going into the wastes to hunt is a decent way to pass time. I wish I had more playmates but everyone is either too busy or too breakable.
> 
>  
> 
> Dear Diary, 
> 
> I want to play with Ototou and littlest Ototou but Anuie says I'm not allowed, he's worried I might break his school which is silly because he could reverse any damage instantly. I think he's worried that one of us will actually get hurt, Anuie doesn't seem like it but he worries about the twins, which is fine because they are practically babies, I don't doubt he would run me through with a pike if I pissed him off, which is very uncomfortable, so I probably won't do that, maybe. What if we played tag, that seems pretty gentle, I will have to ask Anuie. 
> 
>  
> 
> Dear Diary,
> 
> I am really hungry all the time here. Candy helps but Anuie doesn't like it when I don't eat other foods. I wish everything could be made of candy. The other day I tasted Anuie's pink video game controller. It wasn't bad but it wasn't as sweet as I expected it be and even though it was pink it didn't taste like strawberry. In my experience in Assiah everything pink tastes like strawberry, oh I said that out loud and now Anuie is coming over here, oops he looks mad, Anuie is...........
> 
> "AMAIMON! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU!? STOP WRITING IN MY DIARY!!! That's it, I'm getting the pike!"
> 
> "No Anuie! Please!! I'm sorry, I got bored!"
> 
> "Then write in your OWN diary!"
> 
> "It's not as much fun as writing in yours."
> 
> "I swear Amaimon, you are aging backwards. The older you get the more of a little shit you are. HEY! Don't stick your tongue out at me young man unless you plan to do something useful with it!..................Hmmmmmmmm yes, exactly..........that's more like it Amaimon-chan!"
> 
> <3
> 
>  
> 
> Translation notes:
> 
> Das Auge sieht weit, der Verstand noch weiter.  
> : The eye looks but the mind sees
> 
> Der Schein trügt.: Appearance deceive


	8. Confucius says, "The honorable and upright man....allows no knives on his table.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner concludes with a FOOF. Yukio asserts himself all over the place and all Harry wants is a snuggle.

"Ugh, I'm stuffed." Harry sighed as she pushed her plate back.

"Hardly." Mephisto quipped "But the flan is quite filling for such a delicate dessert."

Amaimon patted his distended belly and made a satisfied sound. "It was good but I was seriously considering eating one of you earlier so I think I was just hungry?" He trailed off into a questioning tone while Harry laughed and patted his arm.

"How about you guys?" Harry called out across the table. Rin and Yukio froze, both caught out a bit by being addressed directly, and exchanged loaded looks.

"Ah, um, dinner was delicious." Yukio ventured.

"Yeah, what he said." Rin added distractedly. Yukio gave him a curious glance, Rin shrugged at his regard.

"I'm sorry but I think we are both still a little off kilter from earlier. I can only speak for myself when I say I really don't want to deal with teaching tomorrow." Yukio laughed nervously.

"I know we need to get the Exwire exam out of the way and we are on a tight schedule but..." Yukio sighed and pushed his glasses up "I just don't see how I'm going to be able to pull this off; I'm really not at my best at the moment."

"That's quite understandable my dear boy. Today's events have been challenging for all involved but I like to think that we have also grown to understand each other better." Mephisto paused to thank Belial graciously as he cleared the dessert dishes and brought out a delicate coffee service.

"Besides, we may need to re-think the whole boot camp. The original plan was to allow one of Neuhaus Sensei's familiars, perhaps a ghoul, to attack the Paiges in an attempt to get Rin to lose control of his flames." Mephisto ignored Rin's offended cry of "Hey!" and continued. "And evaluate the group's response as part of their grade towards their elevation to Exwire."

"As you know, I am a betting sort and I believe that Rin can control himself when lives are on the line. The Vatican," at this his mouth twisted slightly in distaste "thinks otherwise."

"That's just great! Why the hell did you tell me not to use my flames if you are going to make me use em anyway?" Rin demanded.

"I admit, I am also confused on this one. I know yesterday you said plans needed to be adjusted but surely you weren't planning on pitting me and Rin against each other on the subject of his powers?" Yukio took in Mephisto's body language and with a sinking feeling. "Were you?"

Mephisto heaved a deep sigh and tilted his head forward in a conciliatory manner. "It is apparent to me now that approach is entirely wrong."

"Hell yeah it's wrong! Are you fucking kidding me!! Our Tou-san just fucking died because Satan possessed him, I found out I was a demon and Yukio knew all along and suddenly I'm in the middle of all this, this, shit!" Rin waved his arms wildly, his tail snapping loudly against the back of his chair.

"You don't know how close I came to just saying 'Fuck it all!' The only thing that kept me here was Yukio, the idea that at the very least we had each other."

"I..." Mephisto cleared his throat in an uncharacteristic show of nerves. "I am... sorry." He made a face like he couldn't believe he was saying those words. 

"Please take comfort in knowing that plan has been thoroughly abandoned and despite what I said during our first encounter, I would be aggrieved if you harmed yourself."

"What a minute? What exactly did you say to Nii-san when you met?" Yukio glared over the top of his glasses at Mephisto with steely eyes.

Rin snarled. "He told me I had three options, fight and die, allow them to kill me quietly or....kill myself."

There was a beat of shocked silence and then the table exploded in a blue flash.

"You, you SONOFABITCH!" With an inarticulate cry of rage Yukio ripped the Kouma sword from it's scabbard and promptly burst into blue flames.

Leaping over the remains of the table his downward swing was expertly parried by Harry who had manifested the sword of Gryffindor in less than the blink of an eye, moving forward before Amaimon and Mephisto had the sense to jump back.

"STOP THEM YOU CLOWN!" Rin yelled at a flabbergasted Mephisto.

"Me?!" Mephisto could barely look away from the blue flames that were licking along both blades now where they clashed.

"Yukio is gonna hurt her if she keeps fighting defensively, she won't touch him with her sword because it could kill him, so goddammit STOP THEM NOW!" Rin yelled desperately.

"EINS, ZWIE, DREI!" SNAP!

Harry immediately relaxed and banished her sword. The scraps of the table and chairs that she had summoned into Yukio's path to slow him down were on fire in some places, however the flames were frozen into an unnatural tableaux.

Yukio himself was poised to thrust forward with an inhuman snarl on his lips. The flames that appeared when he unsheathed Kurikura billowed behind and above him creating the impression of a crown and wings of azure light.

The blue glow reflected off of Rin and Amaimon's equally frozen forms. The only movement in the room aside from Harry and Mephisto came from the slowly undulating shadows. Even in the grips of Mephisto's spell the flames inherited from Satan were barely contained.

"Buggery and fuck all!! You don't do the thing by halves do you!?" Harry rounded on Mephisto who looked as though another good shock would bowl him over.

He started to talk, squeaked, coughed to clear his throat and then started again.

"That, most emphatically, did not go according to plan."

Harry snorted. "No shit Sherlock, that's about as far from "not to plan" as you can get and survive to see another day."

Mephisto gave her a sour look. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"Don't you dare turn it onto me! This, all of this, is not my fault!" She waved expansively around herself. "I'm not even going to go into how fucked up you have to be to tell a 15 year old to kill themself, because that is actually something I would expect from you."

"You think so highly of me."

"Oh sod off, you are what you are. A narcissistic, self centered prick with far to many fingers in far too many pies. If the barrier was breached causing Assiah and Gehenna to come crashing together at this very moment I expect you would be chuffed."

Mephisto frowned deeply. "I concede the point about my personality but I have sunk centuries of effort into maintaining the integrity of Assiah against all odds, and I will not be lectured by the likes of you about my decisions!" he finished angrily.

Harry grumpily sat in the last intact chair and crossed her arms. "Unfuck this now."

"Precisely how am I to fulfill such a.... colorful directive." He sneered.

"You need to contain Yukio and Rin, keeping them separate from the sword and each other." She said slowly like she was speaking to a small child.

"That is easier said than done." 

"If I touch them will they be able to move?" 

Mephisto frowned. "No, the spell is an area effect, it's not keyed to individuals which is why I have no idea how you are walking around."

"You cut yourself off from the hallows so long ago that you seem to forget they are a part of you." 

She gave him a wicked grin and in a teasing voice quipped. "A part of you that I have mastered."

With a snarl he slammed his hands down on the arms of Harry's chair effectively caging her with his body.

"I have no master! No one controls me!" he shouted into the scant inches that separated their faces.

Harry closed her eyes reflexively as his hot breath washed over her, and opened them in shock when his lips slanted across hers in a possessive, violent show of dominance.

Mephisto growled loudly when she retaliated by pushing her tongue into his mouth effectively deepening the kiss. Her flesh caught the edge of his fangs and as the taste of her blood exploded across his palate any thoughts in his mind of regaining control of the situation fled.

In a blur of movement he lifted her by the hips and kicked the chair away before pinning her against the wall. Insinuating his long, lean body between her thighs, he found that despite being able to effortlessly dominate he had to bend down to continue to reach her mouth.

Even in the midst of asserting his control he was forced to bow to her, the thought was infuriating and inexplicitly arousing. He ground his hardness into the heat between her legs and thrilled at her breathy moan.

She hitched her thighs higher around his hips and he gripped her more securely with one hand while continuing to aggressively lick and suck at her mouth. Her panting, inarticulate sounds fuelled his passion and his earlier angry growl settled into a throaty purr.

Skimming his free hand steadily down her torso, he came to a stop when he could feel her arousal staining the thin silk of her trousers. Experimentally he strummed his fingers along the wet fabric and was rewarded with a shocked gasp and a reflexive roll of her hips.

She was so responsive, already on the edge of orgasm, her hands seeking purchase in his hair.

Further excited by her tugging it took him a moment to realize that she was pulling him back. With a sigh he dropped his head to her shoulder and took great care to kiss her neck tenderly.

"We should stop?" He said in-between kisses.

"We should stop." She affirmed running her fingers gently along the tips of his long ears.

"I don't want to." he groaned as he mouthed her pulse point.

"Neither do I." She moaned as he began sucking on her ear.

"Another time?" He panted.

"Perhaps." she said cryptically.

He gave her one last lingering kiss before stepping back and setting her on her feet.

She swayed for a second and then gathered herself. Ignoring his mussed appearance and strained trousers she got straight to the point.

"Help me find the scabbard." She commanded.

"Yes my Lady." He said sounding neither subdued or repentant. His eyes sparkled with barely repressed humor as if he was waiting for her to blush and feel awkward.

She rolled her eyes "Bloody libertine!" she said exasperatedly.

"Why thank you!" He exclaimed with a mocking bow. "One does ones best!"

Harry huffed at his flamboyant display as she stepped over where Yukio had been sitting and began sifting through debris while Mephisto intently studied Yukio's rigid face.

"You know," he began after a long silence had elapsed "I do believe dear Yukio has our father's eyes. It's hard to tell with his human form but as he is now, wearing his bloodlust and rage so openly, the resemblance is uncanny."

"Delightful." Harry deadpanned as she shifted broken china with a chair leg.

"It makes me wonder how you feel about your commitment now, better off staying in limbo eh?"

She sighed at Mephisto's loaded question and decided not to answer. She studied his face in profile juxtaposed against Yukio's out of the corner of her eye.

There was nothing in particular, physically, that she could latch onto to justify her attraction to him; only a bone deep pull that made her want to strip him down completely into his constituent parts.

She felt the same magnetic connection with Yukio and Rin but amplified by their bonds. Amaimon drew her less strongly but had easily slipped into her personal space without her objecting.

"Shit." She breathed out anxiety twisting her insides. She had two out of the eight demon kings making her squirm and was bound to the two princes for life. It was like something out of a bad romcom, only she knew instinctively that to pick one over the others would be a disaster.

A sudden memory intruded into her panicky thoughts; Hermione laying flushed and wanton, clothes strewn haphazardly, while Harry reached out tongue first to fuck her through the mattress....Gah! Harry mentally slapped herself. "One fucking thing at a time.....ah ha!" she raised her hand holding the scabbard triumphantly.

"That was quick." Mephisto said with a haughty sniff.

"That's quite enough sarcasm from you all things considered. Obviously I wasn't going to risk summoning a magical artifact while inside your stasis spell. I like my organs right side out, thanks."

She walked up to where Mephisto stood in front of Yukio and moved to slide the scabbard onto the sword. As she held the scabbard with just the tip of the sword in it Yukio's flames jumped forward dramatically, coming just shy of reaching her.

"Bollocks! All right, we have to be creative here and work quickly. I can't sheathe the sword completely with the spell in place or the flames acting independently will roast me. You are going to have drop the spell so I can sheath the sword. Hopefully Yukio doesn't really want to hurt me."

Her face took on a determined expression. "While I handle Yukio I need you to grab Rin, gently, and explain to him that he needs to shield you while I calm Yukio down."

"Yes my Lady." Mephisto said seriously before licking his lips and brushing them wetly against hers.

"A kiss for good luck!" he called out cheekily as he skipped over to restrain Rin.

Harry thought about wiping her mouth but decided against it. If she put the scabbard down now she would run the risk of not getting it positioned properly again. As it was, she would like to avoid the trauma of being run through by a flaming demon sword wielded by someone she actually cared about. She was absolutely certain that Mephisto was perfectly cognizant of her precarious position and chose to do that precisely because she would hesitate and rationalize not wiping her lips, the wanker.

"Ready?" Mephisto called out.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then nodded yes, fully focused on her task.

"EINS, ZWIE, DREI!" SNAP!

Yukio's forward momentum slammed the sword into the scabbard hard enough to knock it out of both of their hands. Colliding with Harry who was suddenly within the circle of his arms, Yukio stumbled taking Harry down with him in a tangle of limbs.

"Amaimon! Grab the sword!" Harry yelled from where she was pinned under Yukio

Amaimon was quick to shake off his disorientation, recognizing the slight hiccup as one of Anuie's spells.

"I have it Angharad-Chan!" He yelled.

Harry was too busy wrestling Yukio into submission to answer back. While he had initially been surprised by her proximity and the loss of the flames his shock wore off quickly. As he recovered and leveraged himself to rise to his knees she hooked her legs behind his back and moved with him.

Overbalanced he sat down heavily and Harry wasted no time scrambling into his lap and forcing him to look her in the eyes.

"Rin is safe, I am protecting you both, calm down." She said evenly taking in the changes his rage, accidental magic and exposure to sword had wrought.

His irises, usually the placid teal of shallow Caribbean water, were stained with striations of phosphorescent red near his pupils, which had elongated and narrowed into slits. Phantom flames danced around the edges giving the impression of a very agitated jack-o'-lantern.

If the eyes were the windows of the soul then Harry was sure she peering though Yukio's directly into Gehenna. Harry wondered to herself what in the actual fuck did Mephisto mange to create when he unknowingly cut Yukio off from Rin as an infant.

Despite his demon body Rin was insulated from the direct influence of Gehenna by the sword and his mental shields were sound. Like a fucked up mirror Yukio was his inverse, human body but with no shields to speak of. It was taking all of her, admittedly amateurish efforts as a Legilimens to maintain eye contact without being pulled into his inner turmoil.

The piece of soul, animus, magic, demonic power, call it what you will, that resisted Mephisto's manipulation and clung stubbornly to Yukio was a mean, stunted, vicious thing. Understandably so, as it had to be to keep Yukio alive all these years. But now that it was drunk on power it's nature was overtaking Yukio with disastrous results.  

Yukio shivered and shook, pulling against Harry, instinctively trying to put distance between himself and a potential threat. She grit her teeth and pushed her confusion, arousal and sheer aggravation down as far as she could, focusing on projecting calm, cool and peaceful feelings.

Eventually Yukio shuddered and relaxed, leaning in to rest his forehead against Harry's. She allowed him to press closer and was startled to feel tears that were not her own splash wetly against her cheeks.

A few minutes later a warm body that she absently identified as Rin enveloped her from behind and embraced Yukio. Harry allowed herself to drift peacefully as she was clasped between them, her body forming a conduit between Yukio's wounded heart and Rin's overflowing compassion.

"Aller guten Dinge sind drei!" Mephisto clapped his hands delightedly. "You are practically sculptural the way you fit together, absolutely lovely!"

Harry sleepily spoke to Rin and Yukio "Remember what you told me, he's an annoying twat but he's your brother and he's trying to help. Not to mention that the Vatican would be very...reactionary about the whole killing him thing."

Rin stood and helped Yukio and Harry to stand. Harry swayed lightly, practically passing out on her feet before Amaimon took pity on her and swept her up into his arms. 

He took in the various looks his brothers were giving him and narrowed his eyes. "I slept on her, it's only fair." Yukio and Rin backed down, Mephisto just shrugged before approaching Yukio and Rin cautiously.

Rin was the first to broach the subject on all of their minds. "I don't know exactly what you did but thank you for stopping the fight." 

"Thanks goes to you and Lady Potter, between the two of you the situation was quickly defused." Mephisto made an aborted gesture to embrace Yukio and Rin before deciding to hold back.

"And you Yukio-chan, are you well now?" He asked politely.

"No." Yukio said bluntly "I am not well at all."

"I take full responsibility for the harm I have unknowingly inflicted upon your person." 

"No. I don't want or need your pity or apology. What I want and need is some sort of guarantee that you are on our side, not the Vatican's, not Satan's and not your own, ours. Mine and Rin's. Otherwise we are done now."

He raised his tear streaked face and silently challenged Mephisto to contradict him. 

"I am certain Harry would have no difficulty hiding us and I am sure that you would not keep us captive as that would defeat your own agenda." 

Mephisto carefully did not rise to the bait and maintained his serious tone. 

"You are correct both in your assessment and threats littlest Otouto. However, you fail to realize that I, as they say, owe you one, and will pay that debt in whatever way you deem appropriate."

"If you are so serious then swear an oath to us and I will consider your debt fulfilled." Yukio said unflinchingly.

Mephisto took on a pained expression.

"For me to do so there is much more that you need to know. Amaimon will have to be included and you will want Lady Potter awake to negotiate terms, so shall we reconvene tomorrow?"  

"No. Now. I am not giving you time to think of ways to spin this in your favor. And yes, Amaimon should be included if he is willing?" Yukio turned to Amaimon questioningly.

Amaimon cracked a painful looking smile. "This is the most fun I've had in ages, besides Anuie, it's all going to come to a head soon anyway."

Mephisto sighed. "And Lady Potter, surely you wish for her to negotiate terms on your behalf?"

"No, she's exhausted and I don't want you to have the opportunity to stop time and try to influence her directly."

Mephisto quickly hid his surprise but not before Yukio reacted. 

"I'm not an idiot! There is no way she could have moved quickly enough to sheathe the sword, there were items that had been moved instantaneously and more tellingly she was aroused and absolutely covered with your scent."

Yukio stepped up to Mephisto, the loss of his glasses making it necessary for him to get in close. Yukio smoothed down the lapels of Mephisto's garish blood red jacket and smiled incongruously up at the older demon.

"It's not that I don't want you to fuck her, it's that I don't want you to fuck with her. Keep the game simple and treat her well and I won't have to get creative." Yukio maintained eye contact with Mephesto until he nodded in concession.

Satisfied Yukio stepped back. "Now for the oath, I recognize there are previous oaths, secrets and bindings that you must honor. I am not unreasonable, I am not seeking an iron clad contract. No, this is a promise from an Oniisan to his Otouto of support and protection. Normally I would take it at face value as a given but being what you are." He paused and amended. "Being what we all are, there are forces at play that have to be accounted for. What can you give me?"

"I can promise to work towards an ultimate goal that will be mutually advantageous but will ultimately be more to your and Rin's benefit."

"And you can't or won't tell me directly what that is?" 

"Ah, perhaps a bit of both. There are some pre existing oaths that necessitate discretion but I am also concerned that if you were to know the full extent of the situation our mutual....acquaintance will make an unholy mess of things. As it stands there is a precarious....balance that should not be disrupted until the time is right."

"And in the pursuit of this goal can you promise not to subject either of us directly or indirectly by your hand to unwanted physical, mental or emotional pain?"

Yukio quirked a sinister smile. "Just to be clear, I don't know about Rin, but my safe word is pineapple juice."

Rin choked on his own spit while Amaimon laughed quietly trying not to wake Harry.

Mephisto swallowed hard and nodded.

Yukio gestured vaguely. "I need a pen and a piece of paper so I can write this out. A table would be nice too." He gave a lopsided shrug. "I would fix it myself but I'm apparently at the blowing shit up stage of my magical education." 

"EINS, ZWIE, DREI!" SNAP!

POOF!

The room restored itself to it's earlier comfortable elegance, the only difference was the lack of coffee things and the appearance of a thick stack of officially licensed Honey-Honey Sisters stationary.

Mephisto produced a lavender fountain pen and handed it to Yukio who took it without comment.

While Yukio wrote out the specific wording of the oath for Mephisto, Rin cautiously approached Amaimon who despite carrying the Kouma sword and holding Harry was looking thoroughly bored.

"What do you think of all of this?" Rin asked trying to strike up a conversation.

Amaimon shrugged. "Things were getting exciting but now I'm bored again. When Imouto said to grab the sword I thought we were going to play." He sighed. " then Otouto stopped playing and Imouto fell asleep; it's hard to find anyone who wants to play."

Rin smiled at Amaimon's almost childlike charm. "We should pick a day when no one is busy and play a really big game, like capture the flag."

Amaimon's face took on a slightly less dead expression that Rin took to mean he was interested. So far Rin had noticed that unless he was in the grips of hysterical laughter Amaimon expressed himself in shades of ennui.

Before he could reengage and discuss the particulars of capture the flag Rin was distracted by Yukio raising his voice.

"Absolutely not!" Yukio said sharply his eyes narrowed in agitation.

"You owe me, not the other way around, and I deserve the right to question any and all of your directives. As an exorcist I have to follow your sometimes, frankly ridiculous orders because I like my job. As your brother, no fucking way! I don't care how highly ranked you are in Gehenna, this is Assiah and you are delusional if you think I'm going to let you have your way just so you can indirectly control Harry."

Mephisto made a sour face. "I can see how you could think that of me but this is the best way for me to be able to guarantee your safety."

Yukio reached up to adjust his glasses and remembered at the last minute that they had been broken sometime earlier. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

"My glasses please." He held his hand out to a smirking Mephisto who plucked them seemingly from thin air.

Yukio deftly put them on suddenly feeling much more like himself and turned to regard Mephisto now that he could see him clearly.

The older demon looked stressed despite his easy grin and Yukio firmed his resolve.

"Look, I think there is a bit of a miscommunication happening here. I'm going to talk and you are going to listen and hopefully you will have a better idea of what I am trying to accomplish with this oath."

Mephisto nodded and Yukio crossed his arms and took on a lecturing tone. 

"This is speculation but I have a feeling I am right. It was no accident that Satan had a child born of a human witch in Assiah. The issue is that no one expected twins and that complicates things. Satan wants to be able to manifest in Assiah but there is no vessel strong enough to hold him."

"The old man was one of the only humans thought be strong enough but he was dying, even before he stabbed himself. He was bleeding...everywhere....." Rin trailed off, deeply disturbed by the memory.

"A child born of a human witch in Assiah would be the perfect vessel, assuming it was strong enough. But because of our connection as identical twins the power that would be in one vessel is spread between two, so for either of us to be candidates we would need to be, individually, much stronger."

Mephisto looked like he wanted to say something but was physically incapable and was extremely irritated by his inability to speak.

Amaimon took pity on him and with a sigh he hitched a softly snoring Harry higher on his chest and began to speak.

"I don't know everything, if I did I would be similarly oath bound." He said nodding towards Mephisto who now stood quietly looking like he had bit into a lemon.

"The window of opportunity to take a vessel is sometimes a narrow one, there has to be a certain amount of willingness or a weakness of spirit that allows for possession. The body must be vital but can be mortally wounded as most demons capable of possession can heal their host body of nearly anything." Amaimon paused as Harry mumbled out something unintelligible in her sleep before continuing to snore.

"The issue of a demon being too powerful for a mortal body depends on not only the strength of their power but also how that power manifests. Take Asteroth for example, he never keeps a mortal body long, not because he is too powerful, but because everything he touches rots." He made an irritated sound. "The last time I let him play with me he managed to damage my favorite coat. As you can see I still wear it, of course, but it wasn't very nice of him."

Yukio considered Amaimon's words. "Because Rin and I can both wield the flames we would be able to survive being possessed by Satan. I am guessing at some point, possibly within the next five years we are going have to deal with an attempt at forced possession. The thought is terrifying, especially after what happened to Tou-san but I have Rin and now I have Harry too. Once you fix the Kouma sword and we get a handle on how our powers work I am sure we will be able to withstand Satan, or die trying. I refuse to be his stepping stone into this world, Assiah would be destroyed."

Mephisto let out a big breath that he didn't realize he was holding. "How privileged you are to be able to express such a sentiment without fear of retribution. Some of us may have similar aspirations but are unable to voice them so clearly."

Yukio gave Mephisto a level look. "Which is why being under your protection directly won't work. You are walking a knife's edge as it is. You may think making me your vassal will give you leverage but when you are ordered to bring me to Gehenna....we both know what you will do. The fact is we will never be safe; you can try to protect us all you want but you are better off pretending that you tried your best to convince me to bind myself to you but were only able to wring a small concession from me. As long as your actions are not directly harming Rin, Harry or myself I will turn a blind eye."

"Damn Yuki, that's cold! What about our friends?" Rin asked

"Don't be naive Nii-san, the minute they find out the truth they will be trying just as hard as everyone else to kill us. The only one I think we can trust at all is Shiemi but only because I don't think she could seriously find in her heart to hate anyone." Yukio said tiredly.

"Anuie, just hurry up and make the oath or not, Angharad-chan is drooling on me now." Amaimon made a slight face at the wet spot on his vest.

"Fine!" Mephisto practically snarled before coughing lightly and continuing in a cultured voice. 

"I Samael, Demon King of Space and Time, Lord of Reality, do hearby recognize Okumura Rin and Okumura Yukio as my brothers in blood and spirit. I pledge to treat them and their familiar Lady Angharad Lilith Potter-Black....fairly and to include them, whenever possible, in planning any venture that may directly or indirectly affect them. Their enemies and my enemies are one in the same, their allies and my allies are one in the same. I will strive to work towards their benefit as I am able. My vassal Amaimon, Demon King of Earth, Lord of the Underdark may act in my stead. So I have said it so shall it be. EINS, ZWIE, DREI!" SNAP!

Yukio sagged in weary relief as if a physical weight was taken off his shoulders. "Thank you." He said sincerely.

Mephisto's expression softened slightly. "It is late, Amaimon and I will escort you home." He turned and inserted a key into the dining room door. Opening it they stepped through into the front hallway of the old men's dorm.

Yukio ground his teeth in aggravation. "I thought you said you couldn't make a key for our dorm."

Mephisto laughed lightly. "There are very strong wards on your building so just any old key won't do. This my dear Yuki-chan is my key and it works for me alone. So you can see how giving it to you for your personal use would present some difficulty. Besides, a little sunshine from time to time is good for your...physique." He gave Yukio a cheeky grin and a wink.

Yukio seethed quietly as they followed Rin and Amaimon up the stairs.

"Harry's room is right next to ours, here let me get the door." Rin opened the door for Amaimon who took care not to bash Harry into the door frame.

Laying her on the bed Amaimon put the Kouma sword beside her and then stretched his arms out and up. He sighed as his back gave a satisfying crack. "She doesn't look heavy but after a while....she's like carrying a Bariyon."

Rin chuckled as he undid the buckles on her boots. "The first night she was here she climbed over me in bed and kneed me in the back, I thought for sure she had cracked some ribs."

Amaimon laughed quietly as he helped to put her boots and socks away. "Now what?"

Mephisto stepped forward with a flourish. "A simple switching spell should suffice."

"I don't think that kind of magic will work on those robes." Yukio grimaced "I had to help her into the outer robes, they are made from some kind of magical spider silk with unicorn hair embroidery."

"Marvelous!" Mephisto ran his finger tips along a bit of embroidery near the hem. "She really did dress to impress, too bad first impressions were made years ago in unfavorable circumstances."

Rin leaned against the bookshelf next to the bed. "Yeah about that, when did you guys meet?"

"She was introduced as a fourth year Slytherin and it was towards the end of winter, nearly early spring. She would have been 14, about to turn 15 that summer. I was asked to come to Hogwarts to verify the authenticity of a certain few artifacts which we have discussed at length."

"I hope it goes without saying that none of the previous conversation bears repeating outside of us five, it would be disastrous of the wrong sort got a hold of that information. Any way, Hogwarts is a boarding school and has a similar uniform code to True Cross Acadamy. I say similar because overall I found the uniforms sub par when compared to my own tasteful designs. On the Lady Potter the Hogwarts uniform vest and skirt were quite fetching if a bit subdued, but her outer robe draped with all the grace of a table cloth."

"Absolutely terrible tailoring all the way around. It was all I could do to not destroy the thing on the spot. Her head of house Severus Snape, although he wasn't a very attractive fellow had impeccable taste with regards to his tailoring, absolutely superb frock coat! I admit I was impressed to meet someone else who employed the use of the same charm I apply to my cape, and to such great effect! He really resembled a terrifyingly overgrown bat!" Mephisto trailed off wistfully as Rin rubbed his hands over his face. 

"Never mind I'm sorry for asking." Rin muttered.

Yukio walked over to sit on the end of Harry's bed while Amaimon stifled a yawn with the back of his hand.

"Yes, yes, enough reminiscing, fine we are going now. There's no need to resort to dramatics Amaimon-chan!" Mephisto crooked a finger at a stone faced Amaimon who shrugged and passively followed Mephisto to the door.

"Ta for now, don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Mephisto leered as he put the key in and opened the bedroom door.

Amaimon waved goodbye silently as he stepped through into an overwhelmingly pink room with Mephisto close behind him.

Once the door shut Yukio let out a massive sigh of relief.

"Are they really gone?" He asked plaintively.

Rin stepped away from his spot against the bookshelf and walked over to the door. Opening it he glanced up and down the hallway. "Yeah, they're gone."

"Thank god. I could sleep standing up right now." Yukio rubbed his eyes again.

"I'm tired too but we really should wake Harry up and see if she wants to change into night clothes."

"Yeah, you're right." Yukio turned and gently shook Harry while calling her name.

After watching his brothers futile efforts Rin slid the fluffy tip of his tail along the bottom of her foot.

Harry jumped up so fast she nearly knocked Yukio over; Rin couldn't help laughing at how quickly Yukio scrambled to get out of her way.

"Huz I wah, wuzzit!" Harry exclaimed unintelligibly.

Yukio held out a hand for her to steady herself. 

"We thought you would like to change into nightclothes." Rin explained as he rummaged in her closet for her pajamas.

"Yeah, buttons Yuki?" She turned and lethargically undid the buttons she could reach while Yukio got the rest. Yukio helped her pull off the over robe and then politely turned around so she could undo her top.

After a few second of rustling and frustrated sounds Harry gave up. "Yuki buttons." She said sleepily and pointed to where the shirt opened.

Yukio got the message and unbuttoned her as quickly as he could without looking too closely at the tantalizing expanse of skin that was being revealed.

Rin came up with a oversized t-shirt and shorts just as the last button gave way. Harry wasted no time shucking her bra and panties while Yukio and Rin did their best to look somewhere else. Harry tossed the shirt on and pulled the shorts up over her hips.

She hugged Yukio and then pulled him into Rin's side. 

"Don't leave." She mumbled into Yukio's chest.

"I don't think we would all be able to fit on your bed Harry-chan." Yukio said wryly

Harry gave him a bleary look and the looked at the bed appraisingly.

Seemingly coming to a decision Harry waved her hard tiredly at the wall. "There. Now bed?"  

"Holy crap, is that our room?" Rin asked as he peered into the shadowy depths of the sleeping alcove.

Yukio sighed. "Yes. It looks like she removed the wall between our beds."

Rin unlaced his boots and kicked them off before shimmying across the bed. Yukio shook his head and focused on getting Harry to lay back down. Whatever she did with the wall seemed to be the last straw and now she was even less coherent. Rin suddenly reappeared on the bed in night clothes with his arms full of bedding.

"It's a sleepover!" He said excitedly. "We haven't done something like this in years!" as Rin was unrolling and arranging the extra bedding Yukio carefully extracted himself to get his boots off and get changed.

After climbing across the end of the now double wide platform he stepped around the corner of the bed further towards his desk with his night shirt and pants. He swiftly exchanged his trousers and began working on removing the rest of his suit. He had just managed to get his night shirt on and hang his suit back in the closet when Rin spoke up.

"Are you done yet? Harry is asking for you." Rin had taken the side of the bed furthest into Harry's room while Harry had the middle.

Rin was playing big spoon to Harry's little spoon, his tail wiggling happily under the blanket. Harry held her arms out and sleepily mumbled "Yuki bed now."

Yukio smiled and shook his head, the two of them were so cute it was almost unreal. Rin had already turned off the light in Harry's room so Yukio turned off the desk lamp Rin left on for him.

Carefully he placed his cell phone at the head of the bed and slid into the open space. He adjusted his pillow and tried not to startle too badly when Harry threw an arm around him and pulled him back, mashing her face between his shoulder blades. 

"Goodnight." he said softly but she was already snoring again.

"Goodnight Yuki." Rin reached across Harry and briefly clasped Yukio on the shoulder.

Yukio felt strangely light, warm and safe for the first time since he was a small child sleeping next to Rin and Tou-san after a bad nightmare. For once everything felt right and as he drifted off to sleep something that he didn't even know was damaged to begin with started to finally heal.

 

**************************

OMAKE

And now for a fourth wall break:

 

"FOOF!? What the hell does that mean?"

"Well Nii-san, FOOF is the acronym for the chemical formula of Dioxygen Difluoride, evocatively called 'Satan's Kimchi' by a very popular chemist."

"Dude, I don't remeber any Kimchi at dinner, there was that kind of radish salad that was pretty good though...."

"You are right about that Nii-san. I think the author was reaching for a pun or an analogy but fell short. I'm guessing she was wanting to draw parallels between my bad behaviour and FOOF's propensity to flame up or explode violently when brought into contact with....well....anything."

"How violent are we talking here?"

"It tears itself apart at room temperature and the only reference to long term storage required that it be kept as a solid at 90 °K, which is -183.15°C. Even so, at that "stable" temperature adding liquid Methane causes FOOF to explode."

"Woah, yeah. That's kinda bad ass, I can see where the author was going with this" :::dramatic voice:: "Okumura Yukio, known to his colleagues as 'The Ice Man' for his cool personality, not just his unfortunate name" 

"Ha ha, very nice Nii-san."

"Hold on! I'm not done yet!" :::coughs::: "Explodes violently into action when confronted with the sulphurous stench of his older brother's demonic machinations!"

"Oh no Nii-san, it would be worse than that. Sulpher compounds react so strongly with FOOF that no one has been able to document their reactions, presumably because anyone who tried blew themselves to hell and back."

"Woah, how big of a reaction are we talking here?"

"Well, picking a random sulpher compound, on paper Hydrogen sulfide reacts with four molecules of FOOF to give sulfur hexafluoride, 2 molecules of HF and four oxygens....which gives an exothermic rection of 433 kilo calories per mole."

"Ok Yuki, that sounds cool and all but it means absolutely nothing to me."

"Let me see if I can explain this better Nii-san; a mole is the atomic weight of a molecule of the chemical in grams, so while the atomic weight of a mole of two different compounds can be different the number of molecules in a mole is always the same and it works out to be 6.02 x 10 to the 23rd power."

"That is a really big number!"

"Yes, but we are using a really big number of incredibly tiny things, so the end result is very small. So the molar mass of FOOF is 69.996 grams per mole. A yen coin weighs about one gram."

"So basically with 70 yen coins worth of FOOF you get how big of a reaction?"

"433 kilo calories, but to get an idea of how much that is we have to run another conversion."

"Yukio.....all this math is giving me a head ache....."

"Sorry Nii-san, math is a necessary evil when you are trying to grasp abstract concepts for things that are difficult to explain or experience first hand, which you would understand if you actually bothered to study."

"I DO STUDY! It's not my fault the books are so boring!"

"Fine I will try to keep this short and interesting for you; 433 kilo calories works out to be about 1812 kilo Jules. That's like a 2.3 ton car travelling at 100 kilometers per hour crashing into something."

"Woah, 70 yen coins worth of FOOM plus....what was it called?"

"Hydrogen sulfide."

"Yeah so add in Hydrogen sulfide and you get pink mist."

"Not quite, you are forgetting that the reaction is hot, so it would probably just vaporize anyone that was close enough."

"Damn Yuki, that's some serious shit!"

"No kidding Nii-san, what do expect from a compound that lights ice on fire at -180°C?!"

"Wow, all we need to do is get some of that stuff and chuck it at Satan, problem solved!"

"Sadly that isn't the craziest idea you have ever had Nii-san."

"Yeah well, I think I have already proven that I'm not stupid. It's not my fault that you are a rediculous genius, compared to you everyone is a little slow."

"If you say so Nii-san."

"Anyway what's with the Author trying to make puns, that seems like a pretty lame attempt at humor."

"I'm guessing that she was annoyed with the word "Exwire" because it doesn't fit with the rest of the exorcists rank titles in her opinion. She figured if someone else can make crappy almost puns then she can too."

"You know, I was confused about that too! If we start out as Paiges, the next rank should be Esquire. I mean Exwire? What the hell does that even mean?!"

"To the best of my knowledge the rank was originally Exorcist's Esquire, presumably to differentiate between Esquire's serving exorcists as opposed to regular Knights of The Cross."

"So what, someone got lazy and started writing Ex-squire instead of Exorcist's Esquire? That still doesn't explain Ex "wire", like where the hell did the "w" come from."

"It's a transliteration. Squire in Japanese is pronounced like skwīr, so if you drop the sk you are left with "wīr", which sounds a bit like "wire" in English; add the Ex back in and you get Exwire."

"That makes sense in a twisted sort of way. I'll bet you the clown is totally responsible for that happening."

"No bet, that is definately the sort of thing Anuie would do, and then laugh at everyone for using a nonsense made up word."

"Tch! He's such a pain."

"Absolutely Nii-san, right in one!"

"See, I know some things too!"

"What, do you want a cookie?"

"Hell yeah, gimmie!"

"Only you Nii-san, fine, let's go to the store."

"Yeah! Allright!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "MY SAFE WORD IS PINEAPPLE JUICE!" 
> 
> BWAHAHAHAHA! 
> 
> Google it, you won't be disappointed!
> 
>  
> 
> Translation note:
> 
> Aller guten Dinge sind drei : All good things come in threes


	9. Meet me at "oh shit" o' clock in the morning.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renzo has a dirty mind but he isn't exactly wrong; Ryuji smacks him around a bit while Konekomaru just shakes his head.

"Where the hell are they?" Ryuji ground out in frustration. "I expect that loser Rin to be late but not Okumura Sensei."

Konekomaru chimed in. "I sent Sensei a text message a few minutes ago, do you think I should call him too?"

"Nah! Don't be a pest! What if he's lounging under the covers with a sweet honey. Mmmmmmm." Renzo trailed off into a leer directed at Noriko.

Izumo deliberately stepped in front of her best friend to spare her Renzo's dubious affections. "Quit being a pervert Shima-kun! Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself!"

Konekomaru sighed heavily. "Renzo, clear your mind of earthly desires, quickly, before Bon does it for you!"

"No kidding Renzo, don't make me knock your block off. Stay cool until Sensei gets here, alright?!"

"That's easy for you guys to say but com'on really, I'm just saying what we are all thinking!"

Ryuji pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "No Shima-kun, no one else thought that until you said something. Your mind is like a sewer and no one appreciates it when it overflows so keep your god damned mouth shut!"

"Sure thing Bon." Renzo chuckled nervously. "My bad."

Ryuji removed his hand from his face just in time to see a wilting Sheimi come tottering up the wide stone staircase carrying an over full bag of snack food.

"I'm back Kamiki-san!" She panted. "I couldn't remember what flavor you wanted so I got one of each!"

"If Moriyama-san is back from the market already than you know we have been waiting too long. Give me the phone I'm calling Okumura Sensei." Ryuji took the phone that Konekomaru held out and hit the call button on the SMS screen.

He fidgeted impatiently as the call connected and began to ring.

"Moshi moshi, who's calling?" Came a sleep roughened voice on the other side.

"This is Ryuji, the whole class is waiting for you and your brother, where are you guys?"

"Oh, um, Yukio's asleep. I thought Mephisto was going to cancel the boot camp. Hold on, let me get some pants on and I will come down and let you in."

The call ended and Ryuji looked at the phone in confusion.

"So, what's going on Bon?" Konekamaru asked.

"I have no idea but I think they are already here but they were sleeping or at least that's what Okumura-kun said."

"Who, Sensei?"

"No, his dumbass Onii-san. He said he was getting pants on and he would let us in."

"Weird!" Renzo exclaimed. "It's almost like they live here or something."

Izumo ignored the fact that Renzo was the one talking, instead she directed her comment to the whole group. "You guys, that makes no sense, this building looks like it should be condemned." 

The main door rattled slightly and then swung open to reveal Okumura Rin, barefoot and sleep mussed yawning into the back of his hand.

"Morning." he said tiredly. "Come on in." Rin waived the other Paiges in and locked the door behind them. He then proceeded to shuffle past them and down the hall.

Shrugging Renzo walked after him and the others followed suit.

"This is our cafeteria, feel free to set your stuff down wherever and make yourself as comfortable as possible, any one want coffee? I'm going to make a pot, I can make some tea too." After receiving some positive responses Rin shuffled into the kitchen to prep the beverages and scour the fridge for breakfast foods.

Ryuji followed him and after watching Rin set two large pots on to boil and puttering around in the kitchen for a few minutes he got tired of waiting for Rin to talk.

"What the hell is going on? Is your brother sick or something?" Ryuji took the milk from Rin's hand after he yawned again and nearly dumped it on the floor.

"Nah, just tired. It's been a long weekend. Oh look! Fruit tarts! Ukobach rocks!" Rin emerged from the oversized refrigerator with a triumphant grin and something almost like his usual enthusiasm.

"That's just unprofessional, I don't care how hard you party on the weekend, come Monday you get your shit together! We were waiting for almost an hour!" Ryuji complained heatedly.

Rin laughed lightly as he poured boiling water into two separate carafes and went about setting up two trays with food.

"What, you think it's funny that we were waiting?" Ryuji asked somewhat aggressively.

Rin shook his head no. "I'm laughing because you actually implied that my brother was hung over." Chuckling Rin continued. "You have met my brother right? I don't think he could party if his life depended on it. I had to steal his cell phone and hide his energy drinks just get him to sleep an extra couple of hours yesterday morning."

Rin paused for a moment as he set up cups and napkins. "An emergency came up last night. I'm pretty sure Yukio was going to have Mephisto contact you guys but by the end of the night we were all pretty tired so it got forgotten, sorry." Rin shrugged and poured himself a coffee with sugar and cream.

Quaffing deeply he gave a gusty sigh. "Oh man, that's the stuff, I feel almost human again. Here, if you don't mind taking this tray out I'm going to head upstairs and see if I can rouse the sleepyheads with caffeine and food."

Ryuji obligingly took the tray of tea things out to the cafeteria while Rin walked past him with his own tray.

"Where is Okumura-kun going?" Renzo asked.

"He said something about waking Sensei up." Ryuji replied.

"Didn't he say "sleepyheads"?" Konekomaru asked.

"Yeah so?"

"Well if Rin wasn't including himself in that statement then I wonder who is sleeping with Sensei?"

Ryuji gave Konekomaru a shocked look while Renzo catcalled.

"Woo hoo, yeah! I knew it! That Okumura Yukio is one hell of a lady killer! Oh! I wonder if it's that one brunette with the massive......" Renzo trailed off at the murderous looks being thrown his way. "...bento box." He coughed nervously. And moved as far away from the girls as he could get.

Ryuji closed his eyes and sighed deeply as he counted backwards from ten. 

"Look, it's really none of our business. There was an emergency last night and it sounds like they were out pretty late with the director. Somehow things got mixed up and instead of getting told we were going to take the day off we are just getting a late start." 

At this he looked pointedly at Renzo. "I'm going to sit down, eat a tart and drink a cup of tea. It shouldn't take long for Sensei to get dressed."

Following Ryuji's lead, the cram school students settled down with tea and pastries. All except Yamada who seemed to be fully focused on his handheld game and Takara Nemu, who as usual, was half asleep clutching his puppet.

 

************************

Rin focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not dumping the tray on the stairs.

As it stood he could have easily slept another four of five hours. "Stupid clown Anuie could've given us the day off but noooooo.....he's probably sleeping in too, the ass. I should see if Amaimon would help me prank him, leave sticky candy all over his desk....or put gelatin in his boots...."

Rin continued to mumble nonsense about his older brother as he placed the tray on the floor and opened the door. He quieted as he crossed the room and carefully set his things down on Yukio's desk.

Sighing he contemplated back to sleep; Harry and Yukio made the bed look so cozy and it was wearing at his resolve. 

Yukio was sprawled on his back with his right arm flung up over his pillow. Harry was curled up against his side half laying on his chest. Rin reminisced about waking up spooned against Harry, holding Yukio's hand and wondering what the annoying little chirping sound by his head was.

He should have just let the damn phone call go to voicemail.

Rin sighed again and crawled up the bed behind Harry. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook it gently while calling her name.

She groaned and hid her face in Yukio's shirt.

"No, I'm having a nice dream, go away!"

Rin smiled and tickled her side a little earning himself a half hearted swat. "Come on, I brought coffee and fruit tarts to make it up to you!" He cajoled.

Yukio grumbled. "What she said; shut up and come back to bed or go away. It's too early for this crap."

"Um, actually I think Anuie forgot to give the cram students the day off, so they are all here already." Rin said reluctantly.

"Oh fuck me! I am NOT teaching today." 

"Hey it's cool. I already explained that we had a late night. Just put some clothes on and come down and be social. We can take today to just goof off."

Harry finally lifted her head and gave Rin a bleary eyed look. 

"Team building exercises, have them write out some codswallop about themselves and play a few board games." She pointed imperiously at the tray and made a gimmie gesture.

Rin laughingly climbed off the bed and fetched her cup while Harry propped herself into a sitting position. She took the mug from Rin with a muffled "Cheers."

"Mmmmmmm good." Harry made appreciative noises as she drank coffee with one hand and played with Yukio's hair with the other.

Rin was struck by the simple beauty of it all. Harry's thick red locks had mostly escaped the elaborate braid Mephisto had created the night before, her hair clip was long gone, the remaining braid made her look like she wore a fiery halo as the morning light caught the frizz. Yukio was boneless, quietly soaking up the attention she was paying him as surely as she was sucking down the coffee.

"All right, up and at em'." Harry have Yukio one last pat and handed her empty cup to Rin.

"How do you guys want me dressed today?" She asked.

Yukio rolled onto his side to face her and asked "What do you mean?"

"Well do you want me dressed to kill, literally, or just something casual."

Yukio and Rin exchanged looks.

"Just wear whatever you feel comfortable in." Rin said with a shrug. "Just know Shima-san is a bit of a perv so don't take him too seriously if he starts hitting on you."

"And remember, none of the students know anything about Rin and I being so closely related to Gehennan royalty. They probably assume we have some demon blood, Rin looking the way he does, but I don't want to bring them in on anything just yet." Yukio said seriously.

Sensing belatedly that Rin felt a little put down by his comment Yukio continued to explain. 

"Nii-san, I admit I didn't react well to your demonic features at first and I'm sorry for that. It was more me being angry with everything going on than there being a problem with you."

Yukio blushed slightly. "Your ears and fangs are actually really cute and I like how sensitive your tail is."

At that last bit Harry began snickering and Rin turned bright red.

"So we are going to do this now huh!? Fine, I think you are cute too, even if you are just plain old Yukio. Ok, can we get dressed now!?"

"Wait what about me, don't I get to hear any flattering confessions?" Harry smirked as both twins blushed again.

"And with that I'm off to mine. See you in a few minutes." Harry rolled off the bed on her side of the room and let the privacy blind down.

"Well that works." Whatever else Yukio was about to say was lost as Rin began pelting him with clothes.

"Get dressed!" Rin admonished as he pulled a fresh t shirt on and a rather faded button up.

Yukio grumbled but complied getting goosebumps as the cold air hit his sleep warmed skin. Suddenly Rin's long sleeve made sense and Yukio dug out a lightweight sweater to pull over his button up. Despite it being early summer the dorm tended to be unseasonably cold first thing in the morning, at least until the sunlight managed to get the whole building, then it quickly became a furnace. Cramming his feet into house shoes he drug a comb through his hair and grabbed a pair of glasses.

He held the door open for Rin to pass through with the tray and politely knocked on Harry's door.

Harry answered the door fully dressed in fitted jeans and a pink hoodie but was still struggling with her hair.

Yukio stifled a laugh at her unintentionally funny efforts. "Just bring your comb down with you, I will help you untangle it."

"Thanks a mint! It probably got snarled while I was sleeping but I wouldn't put it past Mephisto to make a braid that is nearly impossible to undo just for the sadistic pleasure of watching me struggle." Harry made a disgruntled noise at her comb and Yukio finally cracked up.

"Yeah I could see that." He said still chuckling as they made their way down the stairs.

Rin placed the tray he had been carrying on an empty table while the cram school students greeted Yukio with a chorus of "good morning Sensei" and a quietly muttered "about damn time!".

Yukio pasted on a bland, but welcoming expression. "Sorry everyone, a bit of a miscommunication happened, I'm actually supposed to have they day off. But since I'm not teaching and you are all here to learn something Harry suggested we take the time to do some teambuilding exercises in an informal setting."

Seeing confusion on his student's faces Yukio was quick to comprehend. "Ah, for just a moment I am going to put my teaching hat on. Class may I introduce you to Potter Harry, she is going to join us in an advisory capacity. You will see her frequently with either Nii-san or myself so please don't hesitate to socialize. She is very knowledgeable in some of the more esoteric branches of demon lore and magic. I am sure she will make valuable contributions to our class time." He smiled genially. 

"Ok, teacher's hat is off now, I'm just Yukio for the day."

"Excellent just Yukio." Harry said while poking him in the arm with her comb. "Fix it please before I cut it off!"

Yukio laughed and waved her to a seat. She unzipped her hoodie and gave him full access to her mass of hair.

Rin whistled lowly "You sure you are going to make it through that mess, I'm pretty sure there's an actual bird's nest in there somewhere."

Harry swiped at a laughing Rin who danced out of the way. "Shut up you! Quit distracting Yukio and grab me a cup of tea please. I can only handle so much coffee in a day."

"Yes my Lady." He said in mock seriousness before cracking up again.

As Yukio was gently picking out the remnants of Harry's braid Konekomaru approach them with his usual nervous demeanor.

"Ah, Okumura-san, what language is Potter-san speaking?"

From the other end if the table where the tea things were Rin spoke up. "Oh! Yeah, we forgot about that!"

"It's alright Miwa-kun, Harry-chan speaks English." Yukio said with a smile as he combed out one side of her hair into massive fluffy waves.

"Can she understand me?" Konekomaru stammered out shyly.

"As long as either Nii-san or I are in the room she can understand you just fine." Yukio replied as he twisted a section of Harry's hair out of the way to get the other side of the braid out.

Konekomaru seemed to vibrate in place with excitement. "How does that work!?!"

Rin wiggled his fingers dramatically and said "Magic!"

"Wow, really!? That is so cool!" Konekomaru bounced back over to Ryuji and Renzo waving his hands excitedly.

"Cute kid." Harry said as she snuck a peek at the rest of the students who were looking at her with various expressions raging from disdain (a purple haired chick), confused and worried (blondie in a kimono), suspicion (dude with bleached out fauxhawk) and curiosity tinged with lust (pink hair, brown eyes, probably the guy Rin warned her about). 

The rest of them, an older looking kid in a hoodie that she was sure was a chick, a possessed little boy clutching a very sentient sock puppet (the sock puppet winked, eeeewwww) and a sweetly bland girl with ashy brown hair that didn't fit into the freak show were all minding their own business.

Yukio made a few more passes with the comb and then declared Harry knot free.

Standing Harry took the comb from Yukio and gave him a peck on the cheek. "My hero!" She exclaimed "I'm going to run this back upstairs, do you need anything?"

Blushing Yukio tried to keep his voice steady. "Yes actually, do you have any board games?"

Harry gave a wicked grin "No but I do have some wizarding games we can play. Ever heard of exploding snap?"

"No, but I assume it involves something that both explodes and snaps."

"You would be correct my dear Watson!" Harry called back as she walked into the hallway. "Come on, I'll show you what I've got."

Yukio happily increased his pace to follow after her.

"What just happened?" Ryuji pinched the bridge the bridge of his nose again.

Renzo spoke before anyone else thought to formulate an answer. "From what I remember from middle school English, Potter-sama just invited Okumura-Sensei up to her room to play with her toys." He wiggled his eyebrows lavaciously.

Ryuji slapped him upside the back his head. "Quit being such a perv Shima, some monk you are!"

"Hey, that's pretty much what she said, right Okumura-kun?" Renzo whined.

"Ah, you guys can just call me Rin you know." He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"You are basically right Shima but you really missed the context by a mile. Yukio wants us to spend some time getting to know each other but he also wants to see how we perform outside of academic competition. He and Harry-chan went upstairs to pick out some games for everyone to play."

Rin looked like he was debating on saying something more before he sighed and briefly closed his eyes. 

"Shima-kun, please remember Harry can understand you even if you don't understand her perfectly. Keep the pervy-ness to a minimum. I can promise that she won't go so far as to kill you unless she is defending me or Yukio but I can't guarantee you won't wish you were dead if she decides to kick your ass for being impertinent."

"Ooh feisty!" Renzo yelped as Ryuji smacked him again.

"No! Not feisty! Rin is saying she's off limits so stop messing around." Ryuji said through clenched teeth.

"It's obvious that she's dating Sensei you pink haired moron. If she doesn't scare you then consider Sensei might decide to shoot you and take you out of your misery!" Izumo said scathingly as she tossed her hair.

"No she's not dating anyone." Rin started to explain.

"Oh good! That means she's fair game!" Renzo interrupted already moving to dodge the anticipated smack from Ryuji.

"Oh, um, everybody...." Shiemi tried to talk over the growing argument but her voice was lost in the increasing noise. 

Harry and Yukio had paused in the doorway and were watching the chaos unfold. Shiemi shrugged apologetically to which Harry smiled and mimed putting her hands over her ears. Shiemi wondered what she was going to do but went ahead and covered up anyway.

A few seconds later she was happy she did as a loud noise went off like a cannon fireing.

Yukio and Rin seemed unaffected but the reactions throughout the rest of the room were extreme.

Takara sat up, eyes wide open and ramrod straight with a shriek causing his pink rabbit puppet to belch a small fireball directly at Yamada who's hoodie quickly caught fire.

Renzo had jumped practically on top on Konekomaru who toppled over into Ryuji sending them all to the floor. On the way down they caught the edge of the tea tray and sent it spinning across the table where it caught Noriko in the chest and spilled tea all over her and Izumo.

Shiemi who had been sitting slightly apart from them was spared the deluge, thankfully.

Yamata managed to get out of the hoodie without catching anything else on fire but was practically topless underneath.

"Shura!?" Yukio said in shock. "What are you doing here!?"

Shura formerly known as Yamata sighed. "Hold on kid, lemme get the rest of this crap off and we'll talk."

"Friend of yours?" Harry said lowly to Yukio.

"She's an old student of Tou-san's, an exorcist first class and a skilled knight who wields a demon sword, I can't think of any positive reasons why she would be here." Yukio said as quietly as possible in Harry's ear. Her subtle nod indicated her understanding and she crossed the room to be nearer to Rin.

As Shura unwound the tight bandages that were smashing her breasts down she gave a satisfied hum. "Thank god I can get outta these things and get back to breathing." with an obscene pop that would have made Renzo fall over if he hadn't already been lying on the floor her breasts sprang free.

Massive pillowy mounds, barely covered by a triangle front bikini top and bisected by a sinuous red tattoo, bounced rhythmically as she shook out her two tone yellow and red hair.

"Nyah, that's better, good to see you kiddo." She gave Yukio a hug mashing his face into her chest.

Yukio recovered and calmly adjusted his glasses. "Ah, but you have seen me several times a week now since the start of class, so why the subterfuge."

"Don't tell me you actually needed a remedial demon pharmaceuticals class?" Yukio calmly needled her ego and wated for her to react.

"From you ya four eyed runt I don't need nuthin'! I'm here on order business and I don't have to explain myself to the like of you!" Shura seemed to puff up in her indignation.

"Fine." Yukio shrugged. "You really want to spend the week hanging out with a bunch of teenagers?"

"Hell no! But I got my orders ya know so I'm staying for now." She said firmly.

"All right then." 

Yukio set the games he brought down from Harry's room on an empty table.

"Originally I had planned to give you all an assessment test first thing but that is obviously not on the agenda any longer. Considering the slightly late start and the fact that this is going to be a mostly unstructured day let's get back to our team building exercises a little later. Before we have lunch I would like to take the opportunity to get you all settled with your own rooms and give the girls an opportunity to clean up." 

On the tail end of his announcement Yukio approached Rin and Harry.

"Nii-san are you and Harry-chan ok with handling lunch while I sort out the rooms?" 

"Yuki, I can manage lunch. Ukobach has already prepped most of it so there isn't much to do. Take Harry-chan with you, she can do wonders with a few charms and we might as well make them comfortable." 

"Ok Nii-san, but be careful." He reached out to grasp Rin's shoulder for a moment before turning to the rest of the students.

"The first floor has several staff rooms as well as separate male and female bathing facilities. We have the building to ourselves but I caution you that some of the doors are warded. If you come across a locked door please leave it locked. Thank you." 

Yukio gestured to Harry. "Harry-chan is able to clean very quickly so once you have picked a room let us know and she will clean it out for you."

"Is that all right?" Yukio asked Harry.

"Yeah that's fine. Ask purple hair and her buddy to come here real quick." Harry produced her wand with a flick of her hand.

"Wow, so cool!" Renzo gaped at the action.

"Kamiki-san and Paku-san, could you come here for a moment?" 

The girls turned from where they were loading Shiemi down with bags and obediently trotted over.

"Yes Sensei?" Izumo asked sweetly.

Caught off guard by her tone he looked at Harry who just rolled her eyes and flicked her wand. "There." she said "Good as new."

The two students looked down in astonishment at their clean dry clothes and bowed. 

"Thank you Harry-san" they said nearly in unison.

"You're welcome." 

The girls looked expectantly at Yukio who startled a little. "Harry-chan says "You're welcome". Now go ahead and pick out a room."

"Bloody hell, that's going to get old fast." Harry sighed.

"Agreed, I keep forgetting they can't understand you. Are there any kind of translation spells you could use?"

Harry took on a thoughtful look. "There are a few different ways to approach the issue but nothing that is really quick and easy." She shrugged apologetically "I will do some research later and see what I can come up with." 

"Thanks, now to clean some rooms?" Yukio gestured gallantly.

"Onward!" Harry ordered before marching towards the cluster of students in the hall.

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Exploding snap huh? Sounds dangerous.....and sexy.....can anyone play or does Harry-chan only let Okumura Sensei touch her toys?"
> 
> "Shima I'm trying to study......"
> 
> "So am I Bon, so am I. But you have to admit, she's pretty hot; all cute and petite with those big green eyes and that dark red hair. That kiss she planted on Sensei only looked innocent; if you take into account that they were obviously sleeping together, mmmmm, and the way he combed out her hair....can you imagine running your fingers through her hair like that while you suck on her....OW! WHAT THE HELL BON! THAT HURT!"
> 
> "GOOD IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HURT! AND IF YOU DON'T SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW I'M GOING TO FOLLOW UP WITH MY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DEMONOLOGY UPSIDE YOUR HEAD YOU PINK HAIRED MORON!"
> 
> "Guys please! Don't fight!"
> 
> "Yeah Bon, listen to Koneko!"
> 
> "Thank you Renzo.....and just so you know; if you don't stop talking about sex I'm going to save Bon the trouble of hitting you with books and knock you out myself. "
> 
> "Sheesh, fine! Ok, ok, I'm done! But seriously did you see when she unzipped her hoodie and her boobs just :::CLANG!:::
> 
> (silence)
> 
> "Koneko, where did you get the khakkhara?"
> 
> "It's Renzo's, you know he always carries it around with him."
> 
> "Yeah, but I didn't even see you....it was like....you know what?"
> 
> "What Bon?"
> 
> "You are one scary dude when you want to be. Is Renzo going to be alright, he looks like he's out cold."
> 
> "I didn't hit him *that* hard.....he will wake up, eventually."
> 
> "Like I said Koneko, scary."


	10. Coffee, Tea or Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiemi shows her backbone and Harry demonstrates what it means to be a Slytherin.

By the time Harry and Yukio caught up to the Paiges they had found the gendered bathing facilities and divided the hall into a boys and girls side based on which end of the hall their respective bathrooms were located.

All in all it was a no brainer but Harry wasn't suprised to see Izumo ranting about rooming near the boys with a smirking and unrepentant Renzo lounging nearby. Yukio sighed and hurried forward to head off the inevitable fight.

Harry rolled her eyes at their predictability and continued down the hall on her own, stepping in wherever there was an open door.

The first room contained Takada Nemu, already passed out on a sleeping platform despite the fact that there was no futon or linens and everything was coated in a thin layer of dust. 

"Is he alright?"

The demonically possessed puppet shrugged. 

"Summoning that fireball knocked the kid out."

"Sorry. If I had known that was a possibility I would have warned him before I made such a loud noise."

"Nah, don't worry, it didn't hurt him none." The floppy eared puppet laughed. "He's a bit high strung."

"Yes, I can tell." Harry deadpanned as she banished the dust and levitated the old linens from the closet. Setting them out on the unoccupied alcove she hit them with a strong repairo leaving them looking brand new.

The puppet let out a low whistle. "You got some strong magic chops there Red!"

Harry snorted. "Yes, but this is a spell pretty much anyone can do where I come from. If you think this is impressive my more complicated spell work would probably blow your mind."

"Yeah, I can see why you might think making something new again isn't all that, but I only know of one other demon who has that ability and he ain't no light weight."

"Oh? Well thank you for the compliment. Would you like me to repair your vessel?" She asked noticing how threadbare and bedraggled the pink rabbit puppet was.

"Ya know, normally I would tell someone who was criticizing my looks to go stuff it but I like you, you've got a nice touch. Go for it Red, make me pretty again!"

Harry smiled, and as gently as possible cast a repairo on the puppet.

The patched over areas where different shades of pink made curious shapes merged together, and became a uniform fine silk velvet. The large red button eyes were still mismatched but they were shiny and bright, their contrasting thread taking on a lustrous sheen even in the low light. The darker pink of his ears and paws was covered in soft downy fur and the bluish-green, yellow ticked silk lining of his mouth and comprising his tie uncreased and evened in color.

"Ooooh." The puppet shivered and squirmed. "That felt weird! You got a mirror on ya Red?"

Harry chanted "Facere argentum" as she twirled her left index finger three times clockwise, ascribing a circle in the air. She flexed her fingertips and a shimmering disk coalesced in her hand.

"Consider my mind blown! That's some high level hocus pocus!" He leaned forward on Nemu's hand so he could see himself in the reflective surface.

"Mmmmmmm lovely work Red!" He ran his paws down his tie and gave her a kissy face and a wink. "I Rabshakeh, the king's mouthpiece owe one favor, unspecified to...."

"Lady Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, the Master of Death." Harry replied to the prompt.

"...Lady Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, the Master of Death, to be claimed sometime in the future for a favor rendered." the puppet wiped the non existent sweat off it's fuzzy head. "Damn Red! You don't fuck around, and here you are playing house with the Princes...."

"You are right, I don't fuck around." Harry said baring her teeth threateningly as she snapped her fingers around the disk and raised her hand holding a razor sharp mirrored stiletto. "The Princes are under my aegis."

"Woah there, don't get your panties in a twist! I'm one of Mephisto's, we are on the same team Red. Sides' I ain't gonna mess wit somebody who did me a solid. The kid really likes this toy, he's gonna be super happy when he wakes up, so thanks for that!"

Harry relaxed and banished her conjuration. "Sorry for getting defensive; there's no luck, bad luck and then there's Potter luck. Things seem to go tits up on a regular basis so I tend to be a bit stab first ask questions later."

Rabshakeh laughed loud and long. "I like you Red, I hope you stick around! If you see that pink haired punk Renzo send him in here to bunk up with Nemu and don't tell him I sent you. I wanna watch him squirm all night like a fish on a hook." The puppet rubbed his paws together with glee.

"Sure thing! Do you mind if I levitate Nemu and make the bed?"

"Yeah, thanks. I would do it myself but...." The puppet trailed off into a shrug.

Harry let Nemu float up a few feet and sent the mattress, sheets and pillows scurrying into position. She lowered Nemu and asked "Pajamas? Blankets?"

"No pajamas, he usually doesn't bother, two blankets should be fine."

Harry summoned two blankets and carefully tucked Nemu in leaving Rabshakeh uncovered. As an afterthought she conjured a glass and filled it with a quick aguamenti, placing it on the floor near the head of the bed. She cleaned another set of linens and made the empty sleeping alcove up for Renzo.

"I think that's everything sorted, yell if you need anything else."

"You got it Red, thanks again."

Harry left the room and closed the door quietly. She walked the rest of the way down the hall to where Yukio was still mediating between Izumo and Renzo.

"You should tell Renzo to share with Nemu, he is already asleep in the first room, which is furthest away from the girls and Takada's puppet will keep an eye on him." Harry said as she eyed Renzo with her arms crossed.

"That is a brilliant suggestion Harry-chan." Yukio said with a relieved sigh. "Problem solved. Shima-san you bunk up with Takada-san or you go back to your own dorm. End of discussion." 

Sighing he turned to follow Harry who had already moved on to scourgify-ing and repario-ing the other rooms. Without anyone to distract her the work went quickly.

"I will come and get you guys when lunch is ready. Until then take it easy and relax." Yukio called out to the group. He waited for Harry to join him and then headed back to the cafeteria to check on Rin.

Harry seemed to be lost in thought as she walked silently beside him.

"What's on your mind?" Yukio asked feeling concerned as Harry startled slightly.

"Ah, well, you're going to think I'm taking the piss, but seeing you as a teacher is a bit of a mind fuck." At Yukio's confused expression she scrambled to explain. "I haven't known you long but I know you better than these kids and I am a bit surprised by how much they put you on a pedestal."

Yukio grimaced. "Part of it is just the title Sensei but really it's because they have never seen me fuck up. To them I am some prodigy that sprung from the womb with a sidearm in each hand ready to kill demons."

Harry laughed, put on a mocking expression and simpered. "What do you mean Okumura Sensei!? Aren't the rumors true!?!" 

Yukio shuddered. "Ugh, please don't ever do that again. Wrong just wrong!"

Harry laughed and lightly bumped him with her shoulder.

"Lo Rin! How's lunch coming?" She asked brightly.

Rin looked up from the manga he was reading. "Not bad I just got everything in the oven so about 25-30 minutes longer and we should be eating. I'm really glad this old cafeteria has industrial sized equipment, it makes cooking for a group pretty simple."

"Excellent, I never really got around to eating any tarts earlier and I'm starving." Harry groused.

"Do you guys want some tea while we wait?" Yukio asked.

"I could stand a cuppa." Harry replied. "What about you Rin?" 

"If Yukio is making it then yes, anything to get him into the kitchen with supervision. He still hasn't overcome his fear of cooking!"

"That was one time! And it wasn't my fault no one put water in the pot!"

"No, but you didn't check before you put the noodles in and you didn't notice until the noodles caught fire!" Rin snickered as Harry laughed.

"Ha, ha, I'm making tea now." Yukio began filling a pot with water to set it to boiling on the stove.

"Speaking of fire, that kid with the puppet was totally knackered and I got to have a good chat with the puppet. He's one of Mephisto's minons so Rin was absolutely right about the kid being a plant." Harry ignored Rin's triumphant cry of "I knew it!" and continued. 

"He's a bit rude but he's on our side, seems to have an issue with that Renzo kid, he wants to keep an eye on him. Which is a little odd, Renzo doesn't come off as a threat but with that Shura bird here on behalf of the Vatican and the puppet here on behalf of Mephisto I'm wondering who Renzo is involved with."

Yukio pushed his glasses up and ran a hand through his hair. "So far as I know he's from a temple in Kyoto. He shouldn't have any other affiliations but we should be on guard just in case." he frowned slightly "I know he has the reputation of being a pervert but he is really being really pushy with Kamiki-san today."

Harry nodded. "You don't think he was just trying to get her back for how she was treating Blondie?"

Rin started slightly "Blondie? Do you mean Shiemi?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Harry flipped her hand casually. "There's really only one blond in the group, in my opinion tits McGee doesn't count." 

Yukio spluttered and started laughing about Harry's candid description of Shura while Rin focused on the conversation.

"What was Izumo doing to Shiemi?" Rin asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I can't give you specifics because Yukio wasn't there so I couldn't understand purple hair or mousey brown, but female bitchyness is a pretty universal language."

Rin growled and made like he was going to storm off, most likely to rip into Izumo about her shit attitude but Harry headed him off.

"Woah, WOAH, do NOT jump in like that! They will just band together against you, Shiemi included!"

Yukio was intrigued. "Why would Shiemi do that if Rin is just standing up for her?"

"Ok, first of all, for whatever reason, probably a bad one, Shiemi is allowing Izumo to treat her that way. If she didn't want it do you really think she would put up with it?" Harry asked.

"Well, she is really sheltered and she says she doesn't have any friends." Rin explained.

"Bullocks!" Harry exclaimed. "You are both her friends aren't you?"

Rin and Yukio squirmed uncomfortably.

"Well, we think of her as a friend but I guess we haven't really discussed it with her?" Rin ventured while Yukio nodded along.

Harry sighed and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling for a moment. 

"Ok, I'm going to let that one go. Rin, go knock on her door, it's the last one in the hall and ask her to come help you in the kitchen, bring her back here. Yukio, set out another cup for tea. You are going to act as interpreter for me, the both of you and I are going to fix this fuck up together. She's the only Paige that you both like and even remotely trust, you need to cultivate her friendship so when things go pear shaped you have at least one ally on the inside."

Rin stared. "Wow, that's....." 

"....manipulative." Yukio finished.

Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "Not really; she's already your friend but you need to let her know, obviously she doesn't have the experience to figure it out for herself." 

Rin nodded and left the kitchen while Yukio set out another cup and brought in another chair from the cafeteria to place around the prep table.

"Here, let me help." Harry took out an oversize teapot and poured a measure of hot water in, swishing it around before dumping it in the sink. She then measured out the loose tea, which smelled delightfully fruity with a hint of hibiscus before Yukio poured the rest of the water in.

Harry conjured a black and green striped knit cover that had some English lettering worked in silver thread on the side and buttoned it onto the the teapot snugly.

Yukio thought it looked cute but was curious about the lettering. "What does it say?"

"Hermione was on a bit of a knitting kick for a while and decided to make gag gifts. The lettering askes an age old question." Harry paused smirking and with a wicked smile she slid up to Yukio and asked "Coffee, tea, or me?"

Yukio colored prettily but before he could respond to Harry's teasing they were alerted to Rin's return in the form of Shiemi's geta clicking on the tile floor.

"Hello!" Harry waved to a surprised Shiemi. "It's good to meet you directly without the other students."

Shiemi shifted nervously. "Yes, it's good to meet you too, now that it is quieter. Thank you for warning me earlier, I'm not a fan of loud noises, but fighting is worse, so thank you." Shiemi gave a short bow.

"No thank you!" Harry bowed back. "I appreciate you being such a good friend to these two, did you know that you are the only student in the cram school that they told me was their friend?"

Shiemi turned bright red and stammered "Oh, um, well I, um have known Yuki for a while and Rin helped save me from a demon so....." She trailed off nervously.

"That's awesome!" Harry smiled genuinely. "I was going to pour some tea, would you like a cuppa?"

Shiemi slid into seat after Harry sat down "Sure." she said brightening significantly. "I love tea."

"I'm not sure what blend this is but it smells divine!" Harry mocked being posh and Shiemi laughed.

Rin and Yukio sat down heavily in a slight daze. 

"You can understand Harry?" Rin asked.

"Of course...." Shiemi sounded confused. "Why? Am I not supposed to?"

Yukio took his glasses off and placed them on the table. "It's not a bad thing Shiemi-chan, but out of curiosity do you think Kamiki-san can understand her?"

Shiemi frowned thoughtfully "No, I don't think so, because Harry couldn't understand her."

Harry shrugged "Makes sense to me. If that's the case then we should take note of who I can understand without you or Rin around. Do you take sugar or honey Shiemi?"

"Just a little honey please." 

Harry played mother doctoring up everyone's tea to their liking.

After the first few sips had gone down Harry decided to break the silence. "Shiemi, how is your baby greenman doing?"

"Oh, Nii-chan is wonderful! He loves my garden and has brought a lot of his friends around to help out. It certainly makes things easier on me when I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to water."

"Oh! Do you grow medicinal herbs or mostly ornamental?"

"I do have some ornamental plants, mostly lilies, but primarily I grow medicinal plants or plants that have properties beneficial to exorcism. My mother runs the supply shop for the Tokyo branch of the True Cross Order." Shiemi said with a sweet smile.

Harry smiled back "You said something a moment ago that just popped out at me and I just want to make sure I understand. The word you used was "Yuri" right?" 

Shiemi nodded "Yes, it's sounds a little different when you say it but you have it right." 

"And we are talking about flowers in the class Liliopsida Batsch right?" Harry leaned forward excitedly.

"Yes, definitely!" Shiemi affirmed.

Harry beamed "Did you know that Yuri in English is Lily, my mum and Rin and Yukio's mum had the same first name." She looked a little sheepish. "I'm sorry, it's a silly thing to be excited about."

Shiemi took on a serious expression and placed her hand on Harry's arm "Don't feel embarrassed! I think it's very sweet!"

Harry blushed. "That's nice of you to think so."

Shiemi took a sip of her tea. "This is a really nice blend, did you make it yourself?"

Harry laughed lightly. "No but I could probably recreate it if I needed too."

"Oh! Are you a herbologist as well?!" 

"I'm not as good as my friend Neville was but I managed to pass four years of herbology so I guess I was doing something right! But let me tell you, the fanged geraniums always managed to take a bite out of me. By the end of the year mine were always way bigger and heathier than everyone else's. Neville used to joke that blood sacrifice for better results was cheating."

Shiemi laughed along with Harry. "I don't think I have ever seen a fanged geranium, is that a plant that grows in Gehenna?"

Harry stopped to consider the question. "Now that I think about it that's probably where they come from but we grew ours just fine in Assiah." 

Shiemi sighed wistfully. "I wish I could see one, they sound like they would be really cute!"

"Oh! I have a bunch of herbology books upstairs; let me grab my old school textbook and if we get bored with that I will bring a few more down! I wil be right back!" Harry dashed off at a near run.

Shiemi smiled at Yukio. "Your familiar was kind of scary at first but she seems really nice."

Yukio choked slightly on his tea in surprise and Rin chimed in before he had the chance to recover.

"It was a little confusing at first for all of us but I summoned Harry too so she's both our familiar." Rin smiled at Shiemi's surprised expression.

"I suppose that does make sense." She said slowly "You are twins, but you would both have to be pretty powerful to maintain her connection here to Assiah."

Yukio smiled proudly. "I can tell you have been studying for your tamer Meister but it isn't that hard. Harry was actually born in Assiah as a human with some demonic heritage. She came into her powers and was blamed for a mass murder that she didn't commit only because she was the lone survivor. Her government executed her but instead of dying she ended up stuck in limbo for 15 years."

Shiemi looked a little sick. "They tried to execute a teenage girl because she was part demon?" 

Yukio nodded hesitantly. 

"That's just so, so wrong! All she did was survive when others died!" 

"To be honest I'm not sure I can go through with becoming an exorcist, the more I think about things like that happening...I don't want to be the one hurting demons who don't deserve it and I know some demons are bad and hurt people just for fun but some exorcists are like that too. They come into the shop and brag, thinking they are so funny but it's just sick! All that killing for no good reason!"

"It's ok if you don't want to become an exorcist. We will still be your friends." Rin patted her hand gently.

"The only reason I became an exorcist was to protect Rin. If the order ever puts him in danger then I will turn in my ID card and badge. But they can take my weapons from me when I'm dead." Yukio muttered darkly.

"If that ever happened I would help you Yuki. Mother doesn't pay much attention to what I do and I don't think anyone would notice except Sir Pheles if stock went missing." Shiemi smirked slightly. "I have the suspicion that he would approve even if he did find out. We hardly ever get audited and when we do, mother usually makes things up because she forgets to track things in the logbook." 

Teary eyed Rin looked at both of them in disbelief. "You would both do that....for me? But Yukio the order is your world and Shiemi I don't want you to sacrifice the last of your family."

Yukio took one of Rin's hands in his own "Rin, YOU are my world. Being an exorcist is a job, nothing more."

Shiemi patted Rin's other hand, mirroring his earlier comforting gesture. "Rin, because of you my relationship with my mother is as good as it is going to get. I can tell she still doesn't think much of me, I was always more grandmother's daughter than hers anyway." 

Shiemi shook her head slightly as if trying to work the sad thought out of her head. "I would much rather be there for you both, you are my first friends and I am building a new family with you. And look!" she said brightly "I think Harry and I get along pretty well so far, it's like I have two brothers and a new sister so please don't feel bad."

Rin and Yukio exchanged glances. Yukio nodded.

Rin took a deep breath. "We believe you and we trust you, when Harry gets back there is something else we need to tell you."

"Harry is back!" Harry quipped as she came into the kitchen toting an oversized book covered in rich green leather with beautiful gilt edging. "I lucked out and found one of Hermione's gifts from Neville" She said while smiling at Shiemi. "So what's this about telling who what?"

Rin spoke up "We need to tell Shiemi the rest of the important stuff."

"Oh, hold on." Harry manifested her wand and with a sweeping motion said "Muffliato."

Yukio gave her a curious look.

"It's a spell my old head of house created, it allows sound in but garbles sound going out. To anyone outside the spell it just sounds like we are chatting about something boring like the weather. It also makes it impossible for someone to read our lips, so go on, tell her."

Yukio coughed to clear his throat. "I told you earlier that I because an exorcist to protect Rin. That is the truth but the reason why I had to protect Rin is a little bit complicated. I am sure by now you know that Rin is a half demon right?"

Shiemi nodded. "No offense Rin but it's pretty obvious, I just assumed it was something you weren't happy about and didn't bring it up again after our first meeting."

Rin rubbed the back of his neck. "Well you aren't wrong there, I am getting better about it but up until a few months ago I thought I was totally human and had no idea demons even existed."

Shiemi looked horrified. "A few months ago!? Yukio how could you lie to your brother like that!?"

"I know, it was wrong, but Nii-san's powers were sealed in his sword just after we were born and he seemed to be a normal human, he couldn't see demons at all. I have been able to see them, always, and eventually Tou-san decided it would be safer for both of us if I trained as an exorcist but then...." Yukio trailed off.

Shiemi waited for a few seconds "What happened to Rin?"

Yukio looked at Rin who was sitting with his head in his hands while Harry stood behind him rubbing comforting circles on his back.

"The seal weakened and Rin's aura was all over the place. Suddenly he could see demons and one of the demon kings tracked him down." Shiemi gasped and Yukio continued. "Luckily Tou-san got to Rin before Asteroth could pull Rin into Gehenna; he exorcised the demon and took Rin home. I was here getting moved into my dorm when I had a very bad feeling. I couldn't get anyone on the phone so I rushed home as quickly as possible but by the time I got there it was too late. Asteroth had repossesed the same kid who attacked Rin and led a ghoul horde attacking our monastery. He literally crashed through the defensive wards and then Satan was able to possess Tou-san long enough to summon the Gehenna gate. Tou-san fought back and stabbed himself to buy time for Rin to escape but it was too late, they were both already caught in the gate. Rin broke the seal on his powers by unsheathing his sword and managed to exorcise the gate, Satan and everything else that was attacking. He also recovered Tou-san from the gate but Tou-san was already dead."

Yukio looked up at Shiemi who held both hands over her mouth, her eyes glazed with tears.

Yukio took a shuddering breath and plowed relentlessly forward "Tou-san, Fujimoto Shiro, adopted us when we were infants. Our mother died shortly after giving birth to us. Our birth father is someone we both hate, not just for who he is, but also for what he's done. He killed our Tou-san just to hurt us, just to get to Rin. Our birth father is a monster and we have nothing to do with him, if we could we would kill him right now and spare ourselves the pain of association."

Shiemi was crying openly and occasionally hiccuping. "Are you saying, *hic*, that Satan, *hic*, is your birth father?"

Yukio nodded solemnly as Rin made a high keening sound.

Shiemi nearly knocked over her chair as she came around the table. Reaching out blindly she swept both Yukio and Rin into a crushing hug. This was all the permission Yukio needed to loose his own tears and the three of them clung together and cried.

When Rin's timer went off Harry casually put on oven mitts and began pulling pizzas out, laying them to cool off on the racks already set up on the long counter. She set aside a half meat half veggie pie and hit the rest with a stasis charm. She vanished the tea things and set out plates and glasses. She poured them each some lemonade and doled out the pizza, veggie for Shiemi, half and half for her and Yukio and all meat for Rin. Then she settled in to wait.

After a few minutes the crying tapered off. Harry passed over some handkerchiefs and waited for the sniffling and wiping to stop.

"Look you guys! Pizza! And Rin made it so you know it's the best!" Harry beamed around her slice as Rin, Yukio and Shiemi chuckled.

Yukio sighed, "I guess I should go let everyone know lunch is ready."

Harry waved him down "No hurry, I put the rest under a stasis charm so it will be fresh whenever we get around to it. Eat and calm down, that was a stressful conversation."

Harry turned to Shiemi. "Are you ok?"

Shiemi managed a watery smile. "I will be, mostly I'm just scared. What if the Vatican finds out?"

Rin barked out a short humorless laugh. "They already know I can wield blue flames, but they are my flames dammit! Not Satan's! We just found out last night that Yukio can wield them too despite looking completely human. The Vatican doesn't know about that, yet."

Shiemi looked confused. "Harry-san looks human too but her aura...no offense Harry-san but you are way too....much....for a simple human!"

Harry smiled. "I could say the same about you but I see where you are going with this. The Vatican is overlooking Yukio right now because they are banking on his loyalty to the order being stronger than his loyalty to his brother."

Yukio snorted. "Like hell that's ever going to happen."

Rin gave him a sweet smile while Harry continued her analysis. 

"They only know Yukio the exorcist, they don't know what he is like with his brother. Mephisto has been throwing his weight around, trying to get them to see the benefit of having the two Princes of Gehenna as members of the order but as a demon himself Mephisto's influence can't touch the radicals who are campaigning for Rin's immediate execution."

Shiemi jumped up with fire in her eyes. "Over my dead body! I would rather kill them all then see Rin get executed!"

Harry stood up and gave Shiemi a firm hug. "Too right! I'm with you on that sister!"

Shiemi beamed. "Does that mean I can call you Nee-san." she breathed out hopefully.

"I would be honored." Harry answered and was suddenly on the receiving end of Shiemi's enthusiastic hug.

"Please call me Imouto Nee-san!" Sheiemi was so excited she was practically bouncing up and down.

Harry basked in Shiemi's happiness for a few moments. 

"Imouto, would you like to make it official?"

"What do you mean?"

"I am the head of house Black and can adopt you in as my blood sister. It wouldn't mean much outside of us right now but if something happens in the future you would be supported and protected, you would legally be my family and....I used to have a friend who I wish I had done this for when I had the chance. I thought I could keep her safe but the minute I wasn't physically by her side she was hurt very badly by people who were trying to ultimately hurt me. Wherever she is, if she's even still alive, she doesn't remember me, they took that from her." 

Harry teared up slightly. "I just don't want that to happen again with someone I care about. You don't have to and I won't think badly of you if you don't want to. It's blood magic and since I am a demon it may have unintended consequences. You could develop more demonic traits or become more sensitive to me than you already are. There is a bunch of baggage that goes with the name Black in the wizarding world but of the official main line I'm the last one left."

Shiemi after nodding her head yes through Harry's entire speech finally just put her hand over Harry's mouth. "Yes! I said yes, please!"

Harry looked over at Yukio and Rin. "Thoughts, opinions?" 

"If it keeps Shiemi safe I'm all for it." Rin said plainly.

"This is all rather fast." Yukio chuckled awkwardly. "Everything has been hugely accelerated since last Friday but I can't help but think it's a good thing? Like this time we will be ready when the shit hits the fan? If you feel like it's the right thing to do then do it. I trust you both." 

Shiemi looked determinedly at Harry. "What do I need to do?"

"We cut our own hands, right palm is traditional to show we are sincere. We clasp hands, wound to wound, I then state, formally, using my full name, rank and title that I am accepting you as my sister in blood, flesh and spirit, using your full name, rank and title. Then you affirm that you accept the bond of sisterhood using your full, name, rank and title with me using my full rank, name and title. We end by invoking as above so below and so we said it so shall it be. If the bond is successful the wounds will heal instantly." 

Yukio picked up his glasses and slid them back on. "It sounds like you need a pen and some paper.

Harry shook her head. "No. Unfortunately this kind of magic is a little....organic. One of the reasons it's so difficult is because any kind of scripting renders it inert. It has to come sincerely in the moment or not at all. Worst case scenario we have to come up with a cock and bull story to explain why Shiemi and I have matching hers and hers wounds."

Yukio arched an eyebrow "Speaking of wounds I got side tracked this morning. Let me see your left hand."  

Harry sighed and held out the appendage in question. The green bandages were long gone and all that remained of her split knuckles were some irregularly shaped pinkish spots.

Yukio was surprised. "Amaimon did a good job patching you up." At that Harry blushed brightly. 

"What is it Harry-chan?" Yukio asked teasingly.

Harry mumbled embarrassedly. "He licked my hand clean but it was kinda nice."

Rin snorted before breaking into giggles. "Mephisto, Amaimion and Yukio, my my Harry-chan are you building a harem!?"

"Yeah, laugh it up, don't forget you are on that list too!" Harry said heatedly. "It's not my fault that this kind of crazy shit happens to me!" 

Rin sobered up quickly. "It's fine Harry, I was just making fun! Who or what you do with your private time is your business, unless you want it to be our business too." Rin finished off his innuendo with a blush while Yukio rolled his eyes.

Harry turned to Shiemi. "See what I put up with?!"

"Yes I do, but it's ok Nee-san, if you get tired of all those icky boys you can always stay overnight with me." 

Shiemi's seemingly innocent statement was spoiled by her blushing cheeks and brilliant smile.

Harry groaned. "You too? All right it's a date, rain check for sometime in the future, deal?" 

"Deal!" Shiemi said enthusiastically as Yukio and Rin gaped openly in surprise. "We should really get the ritual over with, I'm sure everyone is hungry by now."

"Are you sure you are ready for this?"

Shiemi nodded. "It's like when I summoned Nii-chan; I'm scared but I just need to trust myself and everything will be fine."

Harry conjured two small leaf shaped blades with a single razor sharp edge.

"I know it's hard to do but please look while you cut, I made these very sharp so they would hurt less but that means you can easily cut deep without feeling it. Remember, we just need blood to blood, cut skin is all you need." 

"Ready?" 

Sheimi nodded.

Harry focused on her will and ties to the house of Black as she pushed down with the blade into the palm of her right hand. She allowed the blood to well up momentarily before turning to Shiemi and clasping her similarly wounded hand, sealing them together palm to palm. 

For a moment she was still, allowing their blood to mingle, searching for a thread of something definitive that she could say was Shiemi's magic. She began to feel a tugging in time with her heart beat, no, with their heart beat, like the deep pulse of the earth rolling through dark fertile soil. Harry gasped and then regained control, whatever powers Shiemi had they were massive if slightly dormant, like a tree shaking off a long winter hibernation. Harry shivered, now was the time, and she began to speak.

"I Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, thrice bound scion of house Peverell, Heir of Slytherin and master of the keli of the Archangel Samael accept Moriyama Shiemi, daughter of Gaia as my sister in blood, flesh and spirit, imparting unto her all the rank and privileges therein."

There was a beat of power that surged between them and Shiemi's voice rose clearly into the charged atmosphere. "I Moriyama Shiemi, daughter of Gaia accept Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, thrice bound scion of house Peverell, Heir of Slytherin and master of the keli of the Archangel Samael as my sister in blood, flesh and spirit, imparting unto her all the rank and privileges therein."   

Together they chanted, trance like "As so above and so below, as we have said, so shall it be." 

There was no flash of light or sound of completion to mark the end of the ritual. Despite it being somewhat anticlimactic the first thing that they noticed was the blood had disappeared from their hands, leaving behind a thin scar that could easily pass as a second lifeline.

Shiemi's face lit up like the sun breaking through a foggy day. "Nee-san!" She cried flinging herself nearly off her geta to crush Harry into her embrace. 

"This is the happiest day of my life! In fact the only thing that could make this any better is if someone told me they knew how to find the garden of Amahara!"

Yukio sat back with a thoughtful expression "Is that the mythical garden where every kind of plant ever created in Assiah or Gehenna grows?"

Shiemi rocked Harry excitedly. "Yes! You've heard of it?"

Yukio looked at Rin. "Twelve foot tall pink shrubberies, I didn't exactly take a censuses and it's kind of blur but Mephisto did imply it was one of a kind."

Rin looked thoughtful. "He's capable of it, they don't call him the Earth King for nothing."

Harry stumbled slightly as Shiemi suddenly stopped supporting her own body weight. 

"Do you think he would?" 

"And be the center of attention, I'm sure of it!" 

"Are you guys talking about Amaimon because I am 100% certain I could convince him to at least let us picnic there." Harry gave up trying to keep Shiemi standing and gently maneuvered her into a chair. 

"It's really real!" Shiemi wailed and then broke into heart wrenching sobs.

"Ah, oh man." Rin grimaced "I know what this is about. It's going to take awhile for her to come around. Do you mind if I take her up and get her comfortable in our bed?"

Yukio stood. "Go ahead, I'm going to get the rest of the students fed. Harry if you want to go up with them that's fine by me."

"Ta, I need to get the book and the door anyway. The stasis spell will break once you touch the pizzas so go ahead and let them know lunch is ready first" Harry banished the remnants of their meal leaving behind a clean table.

Rin picked a sobbing Shiemi up in a bridal hold and waited just long enough for Harry to get ahead of him with her book.

Yukio waited until they were up the stairs before he put on a professional attitude and started down the hall.

*****************

Omake:

The conversation upstairs. 

"I'm sorry for crying on you Rin, I was so happy I was sad, if that makes any sense?"

"It does a little. I feel sort of like that when I think about how Tou-san died. Except it's not so much happy as I am proud of him. He was a badass all the way to the end."

"Shiro-jisan was always very kind to me. I am so sorry he died, I really miss him."

"Yeah, you would have known him your whole life right?"

"Uh huh, growing up in the supply shop I never saw any other children. I think Shiro-jisan felt bad for me. He would bring me toys and pictures, tell me stories about what you and Yuki were doing. It ways sounded like you both had so much fun! I really wished I could have a brother or a sister but it was just me, granny and the plants."

"I'm so sorry Shiemi."

"It's ok Rin, at least I had granny."

"If you like I can tell you some stories about Tou-san, if Harry doesn't mind."

"That's fine Rin, Yukio already told me some but I'm happy to hear more."

"Yes please, Yuki and I have talked about missions from time to time but he never told me much about home. That's part of the reason I was so surprised when I met you, I totally forgot you and Yuki are the same age. Just listening to Shiro-jisan you would think you were 9 years old forever!"

"Aww man, really! That old bastard! Fine, hold onto your hair because I have some good ones about him. He's gonna be so embarrassed he's going to jump in his grave!"

"Don't you mean 'spin in his grave'?"

"Yeah Harry, that's what I said right?"

"Right."

"Ok then. So we were at the store one time and this lady in a uniform was putting stuff on a shelf and she had massive boobs, I mean, wow, just about to pop out of her top. Tou-san was so distracted he drove the buggy directly into a shelf of sake. To make matters worse when the buggy hit the shelf the sake bottles rained down on him, knocked him out cold!"

"I was freaking out because I thought he was dead so the lady ran over to help. She was leaning over to check his breathing when he suddenly sat up, boom, and face planted straight into her boobs!

He apologized and she apologized and somehow he ended up walking away without having to pay a single yen for any of the broken bottles. He was was wearing his full cassock and I guess she was freaking out about a priest getting injured in her store."

"On the way home, even though he was beat up and reeking of sake Tou-san was in a great mood. Yukio asked why he was so happy if he got hurt and the old man said, "Boys, a moment in heaven is worth any earthly pain." Later that night Yukio told me that he didn't think Tou-san was actually knocked out."

"Then it hit me, the old prev set the whole thing up just so he could motorboat that girl, the ass! And then he had the audacity to tell me to be good!"

Shiemi laughed. "That sounds about right! For a while there I thought he might actually be my dad because of how he flirted with my mom!"

Rin grinned. "Worst priest ever! But that's not even the best story!"

Harry settled in with a fond smile and watched Rin and Shiemi act out some of the more memorable exploits of the indomitable Shiro Fujimoto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Dude, Harry manipulated Shiemi like a boss."
> 
> "Not really Nii-san, she just gave Shiemi what she wanted."
> 
> "Yeah but now she's like our minion or something! It's totally bizarre."
> 
> "Nii-san, Shiemi has always had strong feelings for us but she didn't know how to express them and we were too socially retarded to bridge the gap. Harry wasn't being manipulative so much as she was being socially intelligent. "
> 
> "Whatever you say Yukio, we both saw it with our own two eyes, she is a sneaky snake!"
> 
> "Yes, fine but it isn't a bad thing right?"
> 
> "Hell no! I'm totally impressed!"
> 
> "Alright then. I'm just glad she's on our side!"
> 
> "Me too Yukio, me too!"


	11. Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kyoto boys argue and things get a little heated; everyone has their secrets, but some are more dangerous than others.

Yukio nearly knocked on the first door in the hall but he changed his mind and opened it quietly.

"Is Takada-san up to eating with everyone or do you want me to make a plate for him and put it in the fridge for later?"

The puppet stirred slightly before sighing. "I ain't really supposed to talk ta ya on my own but the kid is still assed out. Go ahead and make a plate for later, whatever you want except for spicy stuff. The kid isn't that picky but the spicy stuff always gives me heartburn. We'll probably get up later tonight when everyone's asleep, or at least that's how it usually goes."

"All right, just yell if you need something."

"Thanks again, right decent of ya!"

Yukio shut the door quietly and went down the hall finding the student in various states of boredom.

The Kyoto trio were busy studying, or at least it looked like they were studying, Yukio was certain by the blush on Renzo's face that he was actually looking at something pornographic. He just shook his head and told them the pizza was ready and up for grabs in the kitchen.

Shura was asleep and didn't even twitch when he called her name so he just shrugged and closed the door quietly.

He knocked at Paku and Izumo's door and was a bit surprised when it swung open and they weren't there. They probably went to take a bath, he thought to himself.

He inched the door to the women's bathroom open just enough to tell them that food was ready and to hear their reply.

He shut the door and headed back to the cafeteria.

Coming back into the kitchen he was surprised to find the three Kyoto boys stuffing their faces, both hands occupied by slices of pizza and a fierce discussion underway.

"I don't care what you say Konekomaru, that's just gross! Right Sensei?" Seeing that Yukio had walked into the room Ryuji tried to rope him into blindly agreeing.

Yukio laughed "So what is being debated?"

Konekomaru adjusted his glasses as best as he could with his arm and waved his pizza slices in Yukio's face "We are debating the merits of pineapple on pizza! I keep trying to tell Bon that this stuff is amazing but he won't even try it!"

"I am perfectly happy with my choices and I don't want to contaminate my mouth with fruit!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"But Bon, tomatoes are a fruit too and you don't seem to have a problem with them on Pizza." Renzo said in a smarmy voice.

"Shut up you! Who's side are you on anyway!?" Ryuji growled out.

Yukio picked up a slice of the pineapple pizza and took a bite. "It tastes pretty good to me but then again I always like Nii-san's cooking. I think he actually grilled the pinapple with carmalized onions before putting it on, it's sweet but not overly so, it compliments the smokiness of the bacon." 

"Okumura-kun made all of these?" Konekomaru asked in astonishment.

Yukio thought about the question for a moment and then decided against saying anything direct about Ukobach. 

"I'm pretty sure the ingredients were prepped last night but yeah, he put the pizzas together and baked them on his own. He cooks as much as possible; even though I earn a wage for teaching and exorcisms it isn't much for two people to live on. Since Tou-san died Sir Pheles has been our guardian but he's surprisingly cheap when it comes to our allowance. We save a lot of money buying groceries and having Nii-san cook instead of eating out all the time."

Ryuji looked strangely stricken for a moment. "I'm sorry for your loss, was this recent?"

Yukio looked down at his pizza appetite suddenly gone and forged a brittle smile. "Relatively speaking, it was the week before class started actually." 

Ryuji looked even more sympathetic. "So I take it your brother had no interest at all in becoming an exorcist until afterwards." Yukio reluctantly nodded. 

"That actually makes a lot of sense, we have all been wondering how he can be so clueless when his younger brother is already a ranked exorcist and teaching."

"He's my twin, I'm only younger by a few minutes at best. Also he had no idea demons even existed until the day Tou-san died. I got my temptaint at an extremely young age and as I got older it became harder and harder to function like a normal person. Tou-san was an exorcist and when I was seven he began training me so I could protect myself and Nii-san if he wasn't around." 

Yukio laughed humorlessly, "Obviously that was a sound decision. Nii-san has a lot of catching up to do but he's not as stupid as you all seem to think he is, and until he catches up I can still protect him."

Keonekomaru was quick to correct Yukio.

"We don't think he's stupid, but he does come off as rather lazy, he sleeps in class a lot."

Part of Yukio felt terrible for discussing his brother without him there but the voice in the back of his head that he had recently dubbed his inner Harry, was screaming at him to plant the seeds of sympathy.

"Nii-san has nightmares every night. He doesn't sleep much. I would fall asleep in class too but I have been conditioned to function on less than four hours a night and I am expected to be able to stay awake on a mission for several days at a time. I'm pretty sure I will have permanent insomnia by the time I'm in my 20's, assuming I live that long." 

He paused to take a bite of pizza that he really wasn't hungry for anymore but had to admit the familiarity of Rin's food helped to soothe the anxiety that he was starting to to feel creeping up.

Ryuji frowned. "You have a dark worldview."

Yukio shrugged. "I've seen a lot of messed up stuff Suguro-kun and I know how easy it is to die. It doesn't matter how strong you are, how fast, how smart or how lucky you are. There's always the possibility that you will come up against someone or something, demon, human or neither, that is stronger, faster, smarter or luckier. That's just the way the world works."

Konekomaru looked apologetic about something but as soon as he opened his mouth Yukio knew what was coming. "Uh, um Sensei, I ah, was your father killed by a demon?"

Yukio froze for a second and then savagely bit off another bite of pizza, he worked to chew it a for a minute before he could manage a dangerous sounding. "Yes."

Ryuji admonished Konekomaru "Why would you ask that?!" He hissed.

Renzo shook his head. "It's a fair question Bon, even if it isn't a tactful one. I mean if you think about what Okumura-kun said during that first P.E. class with the reapers, it paints a compelling picture."

Yukio remembered watching the Paiges from the catwalk above the reaper cages; far enough away to be unheard and unseen but close enough to shoot his Nii-san at the slightest indication of blue flames. He had been deeply relieved and darkly satisfied to be able to report to Anuie that Nii-san maintained control over his Satan inherited powers. At the time he didn't pay much attention to the how's and the why's of Rin and Ryuji's confrontation, now he was worried that he missed something important.

He masked his genuine concern with affected curiosity. "What did Nii-san say if you don't mind me asking?"

Konekomaru chimed in. "Well Bon was giving Okumura-kun a hard time and we all kind of felt bad because it's not Okumura-kun's fault that Bon is....driven. We told him a little bit about how the Blue Night influenced us to become exorcists and we figured out that he and Bon share the same ambition."

Yukio no longer had to feign curiosity to hide his concern as he watched Ryuji turn redder and redder. 

"Oh, and which ambition is that?"

Renzo smirked "Wasn't it something like give Satan a stern lecture?"

Konekomaru quickly picked up on Renzo's strategy. "No, I thought he said wanted to wear Satin?" he said with a totally straight face.

Mt. Ryuji finally erupted. 

"Shut up you fucking morons! I said I was going to kick the crap outta Satan and I mean it! I'm gonna kill that bastard if it's possible, if not I'm going beat him till he's unconscious and shove him down a hole so deep he'll never crawl out."

Yukio couldn't help it, he started giggling hysterically while the Kyoto trio watched him worriedly.

"Good job." Renzo said to Ryuji. "You broke Sensei."

Yukio could barely breathe and he suddenly realized he was staring to hyperventilate, black began creeping into his vision and he felt the remains of his piece of pizza drop from his nerveless fingers. How strange he thought to himself distantly, at least this time he wasn't actually angry. He swayed slightly and just as his knees turned to gelatin Rin was there to catch him.

"Yuki! Yuki! Can you talk to me?!"

Yukio had stopped laughing but now he was stuck in a painful cycle of hiccupping and wheezing. Despite Rin being there to help talk him down he really thought he was going to pass out.

"Harry! He's doing it again!" Rin yelled while he carefully shielded Yukio's ears.

Harry came running in with Shiemi hot on her heels. "This is a really bad one, so just hold him still I'm going to try something." She ripped the cork out of the vial in her left hand with her teeth and began chanting, moving her wand through a complex series of gestures. As she worked Yukio's heart rate went down and his hiccups began to taper off. As she finished the chant he began to breathe normally again.

"Yuki can you talk now?" Rin asked.

"Water please." He croaked "Whatever that was it tasted terrible."

Harry grimaced. "I'm so sorry, I'm used the taste of calming draughts and I tend to forget they are rather like moldy gym socks."

Yukio held up a hand "Stop, I don't want to throw up." he looked down "I'm sorry Nii-san, I dropped my pizza, the pineapple was very good even if Bon doesn't think so. Why is everything so floaty?"

Harry helped Yukio to a chair while Rin got his glass of water.

"Pumpkin, you are very, very high right now. It won't take long for you to metabolize the draught just be patient and drink your water." Harry said soothingly.

Yukio sighed, Harry was so wonderful so he told her "You are so wonderful."

Harry smiled "You are so wonderful too."

Yukio took a sip of his water and had a lovely thought. 

"You know what else is wonderful?! Pretty much every person in this room wants to kill Satan....me, Rin, Bon.....everyone! It's like....it's like a team, almost."

Rin gave Ryuji a sharp look. "What exactly were you guys talking about?"

Ryuji shifted uncomfortably. "Ah we were talking a bit about how you both decided to become exorcists and he mentioned your dad died, and Miwa-kun guessed that a demon killed him, then I was talking about kicking the shit out of Satan and he just cracked! Started giggling like a loon."

Shiemi was so angry she was seeing red and didn't register that she had slapped Ryuji across the face until her recently healed hand began to burn. "You insensitive prick!" She shrieked "How could you stoop so low!" 

Yukio tried to tell her that it wasn't Bon's fault that he was fucked up in the head but Harry gently shushed him and distracted him by petting his hair.

Rin began making a low gravely sound that was reminiscent of a landslide gaining momentum.

"Rin!" Harry snapped out "Go upstairs and do something, now!" In a softer voice she said "Please trust me and Shiemi to handle this, Yukio is safe and so are you."

Rin mastered himself slowly and turned away. "I will be upstairs reading if anyone needs me." He said loudly enough to be heard but quietly enough to not bother Yukio. 

Yukio hummed tunelessly and nodded his acknowledgement.

"Nii-san is good, better than me." Yukio sighed "Tou-san was good like Nii-san.......or maybe Nii-san is good like Tou-san was.....Tou-san was good to us growing up and he worked hard to raise us right."

"Nii-san having the ability to walk away without punching Bon in the face, that's all Tou-san Fujimoto there. Nii-san even walks the same way Tou-san did and he's never worn a gun belt in his life!" 

Yukio found that extremely funny but was still tired from laughing earlier so he just settled on an amused snort. 

"Sometimes I think out of the two of us Nii-san got the best bits of Tou-san."

Konekomaru stammered cautiously. "May I ask a question for clarification, was your father's name Fujimoto Shiro?"

Yukio smiled. "Yeah, but Nii-san would always call him old man, just because his hair was grey, which really wasn't fair because he even had grey hair when he was a kid. He liked to have us help write the sermon for Sunday mass, Nii-san always tried to sneak in characters from his favorite manga of the week but Tou-san would skip over those parts when he was preaching and then give Nii-san a big sigh afterwards, but I knew he really thought it was funny because he always left them in his final draft."

"He took me to the book store and let me buy anything I wanted when told him I was going to be a doctor. He must have eaten 15 omelettes one day because Nii-san was learning how to cook and all the brothers were afraid to try Nii-san's food at first because he kept putting chili paste in everything because he thought it was too bland but eggs are bland they are....eggs....."

Yukio trailed off his eyes distant and his hands clenched in remembered pain.

"Nii-san told me that Tou-san fought to the end and I can't help but replay it over and over in my mind; at what point did he realize he was already dead? When he told Nii-san to run? When he fought back? When he stabbed himself in the heart? There was no time! How did he save Nii-san when he was already dead?!"

"I thought if I could figure that out then I could find the point where he could have been saved, blame Nii-san for not seeing the opportunity to save Tou-san's life that I would have seen with my training.... but the autopsy....."

Yukio trailed off, staring into the middle distance with a disturbed look on his face. Everyone was surprised when he began rambling again. 

"....they called me in as a specialist for the autopsy....I....I couldn't stay....I spent most of it throwing up in the hallway....no one realized he was my Tou-san at first because we don't share the same family name....I had to review the autopsy report....to verify that his death was the result of a demonic posession....it seemed like an obvious conclusion to make but the examiners couldn't agree on the specific cause of death.....cardiac temponade brought about by a puncture wound in the pericardium leading to reduced oxygenation and cardiac arrest.....shock due to traumatic loss of the fingers of his left hand and blood loss.....or the fact that his bone marrow literally boiled and seeped out into the surrounding tissues.....the time of death is similarly inconclusive and I realized I was just fooling myself."

"If I had been there we would all be dead because in my arrogance I would have jumped in to doctor a corpse and Nii-san would have followed me without question and sometimes that thought is the one that hurts the most." 

Yukio made a keening sound like a wounded bird and put his head in his hands.

Konekomaru was coming to a frightening realization and he could tell the instant Ryuji figured it out as well by the sharp gust of air he sucked in through his teeth. He stole a sideways glace at Renzo but was thrown of by the dark and knowing look on Renzo's face. Konekomaru wondered if Renzo had read the autopsy report, and if he did, how he got his hands on it in the first place.

Shiemi watched the boys with an angry expression that looked alien on her face. "I know what you are thinking! Don't breathe a word of it and yes, I already knew, and it didn't take baiting Yukio into a panic attack for me to find out so don't you dare." she glared at them in turn until they looked away.

Yukio raised his head. "It's not their fault, I put off talking about this too long and now it's biting me in the ass. I imagined you all would get the opportunity to get to know me better, not necessarily like this but what is done is done." 

Harry completely ignored the boys in favor of Yukio. "Are you feeling better now."

"I feel calm now if that's what you are meaning by "better" the feeling of being high has mostly worn off now. I'm going to go upstairs to talk to Rin, please be easy on these three. They weren't really baiting me, the conversation took a slightly odd direction and it just set me off. This time I wasn't really angry so much as overwhelmed by the task ahead. But one step at a time right." 

He gave everyone a teary lopsided smile that reassured no one, briefly hugged Harry and Shiemi then walked out of the kitchen without a backwards glance.

"That was....." Konekomaru trailed off in thought before addressing Shiemi directly "Did you know their dad was the Paladin?"

Shiemi remembered Yukio's words and tried to find a bit of the calm that she had regained before they so carelessly hurt Yukio.

Taking a deep breath she decided to over explain for Harry's sake so she could follow what was sure to be a fractured conversation.

"Sit down if you want to talk about this." Shiemi pulled a chair out for Harry and one for herself. Ryuji and Konekamaru sat at the table obediently but Renzo perched on the counter, close enough to listen but far enough away to be aloof.

Shiemi felt her anger begin to flare up and resolved to simply ignore him.

"I met Yukio-chan on his very first day as an exorcist. His father was showing him around all the places that he didn't have access to as a paige or an exwire and wanted him to meet me since we were close in age. Yukio-chan was my very first friend and of course I knew who Shiro-jisan was! I had known him my whole life! My mother runs the exorcist supply shop, and her mother before her, and her mother before her and to be honest I am not sure how many generations of Moriyama women have run that shop but the only people I ever saw growing up were exorcists or my family."

She paused for a moment and continued "I have a very vague memory of being somewhere else when I was very young, a daycare perhaps , and not liking it at all. I did......something and never went back."

She shrugged. "After that I was with my grandmother in the garden or I was alone, unless Shiro-jisan came to visit. He would always bring me things to draw with and listen to my silly stories about plants. He was a very patient and kind man. When my mother told me he was the paladin she probably meant to scare me but I thought that it made sense that such a good person would be the strongest exorcist in the order."

Shiemi paused, not wanting to ramble and waited for one of the boys to get up the nerve to ask the question that was burning the tips of their respective tounges.

Konekamaru nudged Ryuji, it looked like it was his turn to ask for an uncomfortable truth.

Ryuji ran his hand lightly across the pink mark on his face from where he got slapped and guiltily made eye contact with Shiemi. "I really don't want to ask this but if I don't know for sure it will bother me until I blow up and say something stupid again."

He rubbed the back of his neck akwardly and sighed. "Moriyama-san, do you know the identity of the person who killed Fujimoto Shiro?"

"If you are asking me if I know the name of the demon who possessed Shiro-jisan, then yes, I do." Shiemi said softly

"But I think the real question you are asking me is what happened." She absently played with a lock of hair while she decided what to say. 

"I can only tell you what I was told, I wasn't there and I didn't meet Rin-chan until after Shiro-jisan's death." 

"My understanding is that Yukio-chan had a hard time as a child. He could see demons but his Nii-san couldn't, so Yukio-chan convinced himself he was cursed and lived in mortal fear every day."

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "This had a strong impact on Rin-chan too. The other children would see Yukio-chan get scared and tease him, sometimes it went further and they bullied him physically. Rin-chan fought a lot to protect Yukio-chan and he got a reputation. Everyone began calling him the demon child because he was always fighting everyone except Yukio-chan."

"I think Shiro-jisan knew what was happening but he didn't know what to do to stop it. Both Yukio-chan and Rin-chan talk about Shiro-jisan as if he was the only adult who ever listened or cared."

"Eventually people began blaming Rin-chan for things he couldn't possibly have been involved with. An umbrella turned inside out by the wind, it's that Okumura brat's fault. Running late for work and caught the wrong train it was because of the devil Okumura. Rin-chan eventually just stopped going out but he and Yukio-chan tried to help support the monastery where they lived so Rin-chan decided to face his bullies to try to find work."

Her voice dropped into a darker tone. "There were some really bad kids living in the neighborhood. One of them was a spoiled rich boy who used to torment Yukio-chan but when he became a harder person to pick on this guy took his sick desires out on innocents." Shiemi shivered and wrapped her arms around her self.

"Yukio-chan told me that one time Rin-chan caught him with a box of puppies and stopped him from impaling them on a bit of iron fence like a shish kabob. Rin didn't make a big deal about it, I don't even know if Shiro-jisan knew what happened. Rin-chan just brought the puppies to the monastery and found homes for them."

"Rin-chan ran into this guy a lot and they always got in a fight. The day before Shiro-jisan died Rin-chan caught the kid and his friends shooting pigeons in the park with a cross bow. Not killing them right away, but shooting them through the wings and laughing as they tried to fly away. Rin-chan lost it and beat them all up but he got in a lot of trouble for it." 

"I'm not sure exactly when Rin-chan started being able to see demons but the next day those boys got a hold of him as he was walking past an empty lot and the leader of the group, the one that was always hurting animals, was a demon but Rin-chan didn't realize at first." 

Stifling an inappropriate giggle she continued. "Rin-chan told me that right up to the point where he started talking about burning him with red hot piece of metal Rin-chan thought he was dressed up doing cosplay. Shiro-jisan, was out looking for Rin-chan and got there in time to exorcise the demon and take Rin-chan home."

"I'm not sure how or why but the demon didn't stay exorcised for long and decided to pursue Shiro-jisan and Rin-chan. The demon highjacked a delivery truck and crashed it through the monastery fence bringing down the wards."

"Everyone was in the chapel trying to defend the monastery. Shiro-jisan was giving Rin-chan a crash course in demon lore and exorcism while Rin-chan was panicking about being lied to and nearly dying. He said something to Shiro-jisan that weakened his sense of self and in that moment Satan was able to possess Shiro-jisan."

Ignoring the shocked gasps of the boys and her own tears Shiemi pushed on.

"Satan was disappointed to find out that Shiro-jisan wasn't able to sustain his possession and turned his attention to Rin-chan but Shiro-jisan got enough control back to stab himself and die with Satan still possessing him, preventing Satan from trying to jump to another human body."

"Yukio-chan was already at True Cross Academy when he got a really bad feeling about Rin-chan. He tried calling home and when no one was answering their phones he made his back to the Southern Cross monastery as quickly as possible."

"He got there before the emergency vehicles and found Rin-chan crying over Shiro-jisan's body." Shiemi tucked her hands into her kimono sleeves and hugged herself a little tighter. She startled slightly when Harry gave her a sideways hug but quickly relaxed into her embrace.

Looking across the table Shiemi was surprized to find that both Ryuji and Konekamaru were silently crying. Only Renzo held onto his stone faced facade, although something bitter seemed to lurk in the twist of his mouth. 

Renzo hopped down from the counter and stalked forwards sinuously. 

"Why don't you ask her why that demon went after poor Rin-chan in the first place?" Renzo said in a bored tone.

"Doesn't it seem odd to anyone else that some random demon was determined enough to kill Rin that even after he was exorcised by the Paladin himself, he came back for more?"

"Dammit Renzo! What is your fucking problem today!?" Ryuji ground out through clenched teeth.

"Nothing! Everything! I don't know! I just think it's mighty fucking suspicious that Sensei has a total meltdown and then Moriyama conveniently has all the fucking answers!" Renzo gesticulated wildly, nearly smacking Konekomaru's glasses off his face.

"Renzo!" Konekomaru exclaimed. "Calm down and talk rationally about this! You are acting very strangely!"

"No! Fuck that, fuck you and fuck this! You guys want to lap up this bullshit just because It's being served by a pretty face and a nice set of tits then that's your problem. I'm out of here!" 

Renzo thundered out of the kitchen leaving behind a pressing silence that was interrupted every so often by Shiemi hiccupping.

Harry stood up from her chair and dropped into a crouch next to Shiemi who was huddled into herself, a perfect picture of misery.

Harry was just reaching out to try to get Shiemi's attention when Shiemi exploded into anguished wailing "Why did he say such mean things about me? I was just trying to help even though you all made me mad, now everyone hates me!" 

Ryuji and Konekomaru were shocked by Renzo's seeming betrayal of their almost brotherly bond. It was times like this that Ryuji was reminded that he and Konekomaru were only children trying to band together against all odds, Renzo was actually the youngest sibling in a large family and he often resented being part of a group.

Harry sighed "I'm gonna kill that punk for hurting my Imouto's feelings." 

It took Shiemi a little longer than normal to understand what Harry was saying. "Oh Nee-san, please don't kill him even if he was terrible to me, I don't want him to die. I'm sorry for being so upset but I always thought Shima-kun was a nice boy with a slightly dirty mind, but he really is nasty all the way through." She sniffed. "I should have listened to Kamiki-chan when she was telling Paku-chan that he kept trying to get her in a room alone with him. She was really upset, now I understand why!" 

Ryuji scrubbed his face with both hands "Please don't kill Shima, I would like to do it myself so I'm not honor bound to avenge him. Moriyama-san I apologize deeply for my subordinate's inappropriate behavior." 

Ryuji gave a deep bow that Shiemi returned shallowly. 

"Assuming he is on speaking terms with us I will try to find out what exactly made him want to lash out at you." Konekomaru added helpfully. 

Harry gave Ryuji and Konekomaru an odd look and then turned to Sheimi. 

"I didn't notice earlier because you were restating their questions but I have no idea what skunk stripe just said! Glasses too, I can guess based on the context but I can't make out the actual words" 

Harry smiled brightly. "But the pink haired dead man walking, I understood every word that ambulatory pile of troll bogeys said. Ask the boys about pinkie's familiar."

"Oh um wow, I had totally forgotten about that." Shiemi looked startled but recovered quickly. 

"Hey Konekomaru, do you remember earlier when Yukio introduced you to Harry-chan and you found out she speaks English and doesn't understand Japanese."

Konekomaru thoughtfully adjusted his glasses. "Yes Okumura-kun said that he and Sensei could understand her because of magic."

"That was truthful but Rin-chan was also teasing you a little. Harry-chan is Yukio-chan's familiar that he summoned on Friday. Rin-chan summoned her on Sunday so now she's Rin-chan's familiar too. Earlier this afternoon we found out that Harry-chan and I can understand each other as well. I noticed over the weekend since I summoned Nii I can understand demons that I couldn't understand before."

"Wow!" Konekomaru smiled widely. "That is so cool Moriyama-kun! So you can translate for us right!? I have a bunch of questions I want to ask!"

"I can't believe she's a demon, she looks completely human!" Ryuji was awed. "She looked totally different on Friday. Can she change her appearance?"

Harry gave Sheimi her attention as she dutifully repeated the conversation.

"You saw her wearing battle armor on Friday which why she looks so different today dressed casually, she can't change shapes but she can produce her weapons almost instantly." As Shiemi spoke the word instantly Harry executed an impossible by human standards box jump onto the table while conjuring her weapons, stopping a safe distance from the boys but still in a ready stance.

"Tell the boys to never touch this blade, it is imbued with a highly toxic, incredibly corrosive, absolutely lethal snake venom." Harry said seriously before banishing her sword and wand, sitting casually cross legged on the table.

The boys chatted brightly about her display, even with the language barrier in place it was obvious they were impressed as hell.

"Imouto." Harry waited until she had Sheimi's attention. "You forgot to ask them who or what is the pink hair kid's familiar. I have a feeling the answer to that question is an important one."

"Oh! I'm sorry Nee-san, I got sidetracked!"

Shiemi relayed Harry's question and expected to get a story, what she didn't expect was flat out denial.

"Shima-chan has never had a familiar, no way, I would definitely know that!" Ryuji asserted while Konekomaru nodded along seriously.

"I'm not doubting you Sugaro-kun but that doesn't make sense, how was Harry-chan able to understand him earlier without Rin-chan or Yukio-chan here. How was he able to understand Harry-chan earlier."

Ryuji began to mention middle school English but Shiemi shut him down. "Has he ever expressed an interest in English or spoken a word of it or any language other than Japanese?"

Ryuji stopped talking and paced in a small circle considering her question.

"That's a fair point. Out of the three of us I am the only one who can actually read enough English to recite some verses in that language. When I did he made fun of me for wasting my time and had no idea I was cussing him out in English. I understand more English than he does and if I didn't understand Harry-san earlier I don't know how he could have."

Ryuji and Konekomaru exchanged worried looks.

"We're going to check on Shima-kun." Konekomaru followed Ryuji out of the kitchen with a flustered Shiemi and a pensive Harry on his tail.

Ryuji briefly peeked into Nemu's room before shutting the door quietly. He then checked his and Konekomaru's room.

"All his things are gone." Ryuji whispered while Shiemi translated for Harry.

They continued quietly down the hallway. Shura's room only contained a sleeping Shura. Izumo and Noriko's room had their things strewn about but no living occupants at the moment.

Ryuji was inspecting some strange looking marks on the windowsill when Izumo spoke up from the door. "Why is everyone in our room and where is that creep Shima?"

Ryuji turned to find a much calmer looking Sensei and Okumura-kun standing behind an indignant Kamiki-san and a nervous Paku-san. Ryuji decided to get to the point quickly.

"Shima-kun blew up at us, spouted off some crazy shit and we are thinking he's either left the building or is hiding somewhere. I'm leaning towards him being gone because his things are missing and oddly enough, this window looks like it was forced open by something."

Yukio quickly stepped forward. "Harry do you have a stronger light?" Harry obligingly cast a wandless lumos flooding the shadowy window casing with a bright omnidirectional glow.

"I definitely see claw marks here where something got a good grip to push the window open but I'm not sure I am reading these other marks properly. Take a look." Yukio stepped aside for Rin and Harry.

Rin smelled along the windowsill and then instantly regretted it. "Stinks like sulpher!" He gasped out from where he was covering his nose.

"Everyone stand back a moment." Harry said and Yukio moved the students back obligingly.

She closed her eyes and visualized the complicated swirls and extradimentional-ness that was the backbone of Mephisto's ward matrix. Fixing a garish florescent pink in her minds eye, simply because it was easy to see and she thought he would be less annoyed with her tampering if she catered to his aesthetic, Harry released a slow pulse of magic. She broke a sweat trying to keep it from traveling too far from her body. At an omnidirectional radius of about 15 ft she cut the spell off and shook out her hands to dissipate the remaining potential.

Opening her eyes she was rewarded with the sight of scintillating glowing pink psychedelia. Mephisto's wards were artistically fractal, and absolutely mesmerizing.

Harry was a little tempted to explore True Cross Town with her mage sight active but decided that she wasn't crazy, or bored enough, to risk getting trapped permanently in an endless, magically induced equivalent to high quality LSD.

The cram students, Yukio, and Shura, who had finally stumbled from her room bleary eyed and disoriented, gaped at the light show.

Yukio was the first to notice, after Harry, that in the middle of the window where there should be a trifold seal made of intersecting five pointed stars like the other window, there was nothing more than a ragged hole. It flapped mockingly in the breeze, as if something had literally burned it's way through the wards.

"Shit!" Yukio swore softy as he pulled out his phone. "I'm calling Sir Pheles, he's going to want to see this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Why are will still in the bath Izumoin? I feel all wrinkly like a dried plum!"
> 
> "Are you kidding Norikoin! I'd rather dissolve into broth than be within ten feet of that troglodyte Shima!"
> 
> :::giggles:::
> 
> "You are so wicked!" 
> 
> "Yes, I know. Please pass me another fruit milk, this one is all gone."
> 
> "Yes, Ma'am!"


	12. In The Garden Of Good and Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mephisto investigates the wards, Shura loses her cool and Harry helps out with an art project.

Yukio stepped into the hallway to make his phone call leaving Shura as the only ranked exorcist in the room. The fact that she felt like she was baby sitting was beginning to piss her off. 

She wanted nothing more than to drink a beer and go back to bed but if she wasn't here when Mephisto showed up she would get nailed for it later. Better to just wait.

She leaned against the wall near the door and contemplated her upcoming report to the Vatican.

So far it looked like her mission was a bust, despite being the manifested son of Satan, Rin seemed like a pretty ordinary kid. A little hot headed and prone towards being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but overall a person with a kind heart.

Shura groaned in frustration. It was kinda fucking with her head actually. She prefered her demons to be at least a little shifty, unscrupulous or manipulative. It allowed her to rationalize the us versus them mentality that was at the heart of exorcist culture and ignore the pang of guilt that hit her when she thought of Shiro.

He had come to see her, not long before he died, to ask her to train Rin to use a sword and she had turned him down flat. She took the what if scenario where she had said yes and Rin had been able to defend himself and save Shiro's life and shoved the thought down viciously. She was not going to think that, she had her reasons before and as far as she was concerned they were still valid.

She knew for a fact that the world wasn't black and white; Shiro was very particular about beating that into her head during training. Even the new paladin who was an anti demon fanatic had a symbiotic relationship with the demon possessing his sword. Her own grey existence was something that got thrown in her face on a near daily basis. Being on Mephisto's home turf was uncomfortable; he was quick to needle her about her own demonic connections and consequently she hated him with a passion as intense as a thousand burning suns.

"That evil fucker" she thought to herself "I would love to stake him out on a fire ant mound". She had done her research, if it weren't for Mephisto, Shiro wouldn't have been involved with Satan's offspring and would still be alive and well.

Shiro knew that raising the hell spawn as a human was a gamble. The kid could have snapped and snuffed him out at anytime. That was part of the reason why she had a hard time understanding why he would stick his neck out like that.

Granted, Shiro had a soft spot for kids. Hell, he even helped her out when she was little, but he never tried to parent her or be a daddy even when she wanted him to. He was just....Shiro, Sensei....the fact that he chose to be a father to Satan's spawn just because Mephisto thought it was a good idea rankled.

She was busy fanning that little spark of jealousy into a flame. The idea of provoking Rin and getting her frustrations out in a good fight was becoming increasingly appealing.

She was just working herself up to walking over to where Rin was carrying on a quiet discussion with the paiges when Mephisto breezed in, resplendent in a fine yukata with a nauseatingly colorful Honey-Honey Sisters print. He paused just long enough at the door to give her a dark look.

"Fuck he looks pissed." She thought to herself and the voice of self preservation that said it wouldn't be worth making her already short life even shorter kicked in and she slumped back against the wall sulkily. This assignment really was the worst.

 

********************************

 

Mephisto clucked in dismay as he poked the ragged edges of the ward with the tip of his fingernail. "Unfortunate but not completely unexpected." He muttered lowly.

"Oh?" Harry asked. "The last time I saw something like this was at Malfoy manor. I didn't expect to see it ever again, let alone here."

"You turned the Malfoy wards pink?" Mephisto asked with a distinctly amused tone.

Harry shook her head and grimaced as the memory surfaced.

"No, the Manor was locked down with siege wards active and some asshole cast fiendfyre and then bollixed it up by dying almost immediately after casting." Her shudder was subtle but to a being like Mephisto her discomfort was palpable.

"Pity, I always thought that dwelling was a bit sparse on color. Albino peacocks and white marble festooned with polar bear rugs. Pink wards would have been a massive improvement." He joked, trying to ease the mood.

Harry didn't laugh but she did give him a weak smile, he took it as progress and pressed on. "So what did you do if you didn't use this lovely technique?"

Harry sighed. "I cast mage sight in an attempt to find a weak spot in the wards. There weren't any, even with all the Malfoy's dead it was sealed tight..... until the fiendfyre burned through everything living and began eating the wards. Afterwards it looked like that." She said gesturing to the window.

Mephisto stilled, cycling through the various things he could say in response and settled on staying in the present. "So what do you think did this?"

"We figured out the pink haired kid has a familiar. Even though his friends say he doesn't, it's the only thing that makes sense. He didn't feel like a demon to me so I doubt he would have been able to understand me without a bond to a demon and he wasn't strong enough to do this on his own." Harry paused and looked away from the window and directly at Mephisto. "I don't know who his familiar is but he would have to be under Ilbis' jurisdiction and quite powerful to eat through your wards."

Mephisto inclined his head at her compliment. "Yes, you are correct on all counts, of course. Unfortunately there isn't really much that can be done now, other than the necessary repairs that is." He laid a slender finger alongside his lip in a contemplative way. "Hmmmmmm....I can bar him entry into my territory but I find the idea of allowing him to come crawling back to beg for sanctuary of his on volition to be a more.....interesting prospect." Mephisto glanced sideways at Harry and upon making eye contact he smirked widely flashing his fangs at her.

"I trust you don't take umbrage with that particular plan of attack?" He asked with no little amusement.

Harry suppressed the urge to slap him and settled for expelling a breath slowly through clenched teeth.

"Do you enjoy being difficult!?" She hissed. "No, don't answer that, stupid question."

Sighing she crossed her arms and pensively stared at the swirling pink kaleidoscope of the active wards. The threads of magic she had forced alongside his were beginning to dissipate. Without a continuous source of energy they were being subsumed by Mephisto's magic. The fluorescence had settled into a light baby pink, that while less vibrant, was still quite nice to look at.

"I don't like it but if you think it is to our advantage to leave him alone and subsequently allow him to return then I will bow to your judgment. But I reserve the right to smack him around for making Sheimi cry." Harry said decisively.

"Fair enough." Mephisto said brightly. "Yuki-chan informed me of the new addition to the family. Congratulations on that, well done."

Harry smiled. "I quite like her and it was no hardship to extend the offer. I wouldn't do it for just anyone but she struck me as being something special."

Mephisto chuckled. "Indeed, you have no idea how right you are. You have excellent instincts my lady."

"Thank you." Harry pressed forwards. "I was thinking that she would love a picnic outing similar to what you arranged last Saturday. I think the same place and the same company would be best don't you?"

Mephisto laughed. "Happily, I have been wanting to introduce those two for some time but never had the means to sidestep certain....promises. I think they would be well matched, don't you agree?"

Harry hesitated to respond. "I can see your logic but I prefer to reserve judgement until after I get her input on the matter, which will be after they meet." Harry said firmly. "Also, if you are serious, I expect a proposal that reflects your seriousness and be prepared to work for my approval."

"Yes my lady, duly noted." He said urbanely. "As for the picnic, I am pleased to arrange an outing however I have a request; after I heal the ward here will you accompany me to mine? I would like you to cast that highlighting charm again and I promise to return you directly afterwards if you like."

"I suppose that would be alright." Harry shrugged

"Marvelous!" Mephisto clapped his hands once sharply. "Now to deal with this mess."

"Eins, Zwei, Drei!" Snap POOF

Just before the rest of the pink faded out Harry could see the new seal wriggling outwards to mingle and merge with the existing wards like sentient spaghetti. She shuddered, ew gross. Independently moving food was not something she could ever get used to in the wizarding world. She usually had to wait for even her chocolate frogs to stop moving before she could scarf them down and chocolate was, at least in her opinion, the most important food group. Mephisto smirked at her discomfort.

"Ah, Yukio-chan, Rin-Chan, I am borrowing the Lady Potter to cast that lovely charm again and I shall return her at her direction." Mephisto smiled wickedly at the surprised and suspicious looks that crossed his baby brothers faces. They were so cute when they were all riled up.

"Kirigakure-san, you need to gather your things and come with me. You have further instructions and are expected at the Vatican now for debrief." He smiled sharply at her. "While I wait, is there still pizza?"

Konekomaru spoke up extolling the virtues of pineapple on pizza as he led the procession through the door, Ryuji giving his counter argument passionately as they walked down the hallway.

Shura snorted and slipped into her room to gather her things.

Harry made to follow everyone to the cafeteria but Yukio stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Come upstairs with me please, for just a moment?" Yukio quietly asked.

Harry nodded and they both turned and ascended the staircase.

When they got to Yukio and Rin's room Yukio shut the door and began rummaging through his desk.

Harry winced as she looked at the scarred and melted table top. "Sorry, I forgot to finish cleaning that up."

"Don't bother, the glass is almost perfectly flush and it's grown on me. I don't think anyone could extract any actionable genetic material and having it there seems to help me focus."

He made a little noise of satisfaction as he fished out a small key fob on a lanyard and then pulled out a larger ring with several keys. He pulled two keys off the large key ring and threaded them onto the smaller key fob with the lanyard.

"I just want to be clear that I am not trying to control who or what you have sex with. I know something happened between you and Mephisto yesterday and I am concerned only because he is a manipulative bastard and I don't trust his motives." Yukio blushed "I also want you to know you have options. I can only speak for myself but I am sure Nii-san would agree with me."

He rubbed his neck "Ah, I don't want to make things awkward but I am attracted to you and if you feel a similar way then...." Yukio trailed off as Harry stepped firmly into his personal space and lightly draped her arms across his shoulders.

Rising up on her tip toes she pulled him down slightly to meet her halfway.

Startled Yukio dropped the keys with a jangling thump and clutched Harry's shirt pulling her more firmly against his torso.

Her mouth was plush and warm against his and when she lapped at his flesh with little kitten licks he reflexively parted his lips and then he was gone.

They parted from each other gasping.

"That was." Harry paused breathing heavily. "Very hot and I could definitely see me wanting to do that again. But I don't know if we should. I don't want to come between you and your brother." Harry said soberly and then she amended her thought.

"Actually I don't want to come between you and any of your brothers." She said somewhat sheepishly.

"Good thing I know how to share my toys." Yukio said teasingly, earning a light smack from Harry.

"Cheeky bastard!" she said with a grin. "I'm no virgin but I have only ever been with Hermione."

She waved away his concerned look. "I have always known that I'm bisexual, possibly polysexual. So don't think your advances are unwelcome." She smiled apologetically. "As it is, I don't think I want to make any commitments to exclusivity or anything like that. A relationship is incompatible with my goals here."

"We already have a relationship, it is new but it's there, all we have to worry about is being supportive of each other and watching each other's six. As far as exclusive access to sex, it's your body, you decide who you want to share it with. I can't promise I won't be jealous if you ignore me, just don't push me out, promise to be honest and I think it will be fine." Yukio stepped back and scooped the keys off the ground aw while Harry hopped down from the desk.

He held up the lanyard by an elaborately designed key. "This is a warp key that will take you to the cram school which is just down the street and across the bridge. If you need to make a quick exit for any reason put it into any lock on any door and it will bring you to that building. It works through Mephisto's wards and he can't stop it from working unless he physically changes the keys." 

Switching keys he showed her a plain security key. "This is the key to the front door of the dorm. Come home safe."

Harry smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks Yuki!" she said as she tucked the lanyard into her shirt.

Yukio blushed again. "We should head back down, it doesn't take long for Shura to get ready. I'm guessing she's going to drag her feet just to annoy Aniue but even she's not suicidal enough to really piss him off."

"Nope." Harry said cheerfully. "That's my modus operandi!" 

Yukio laughed. "Should I be worried on behalf of Anuie?"

Harry allowed a wicked grin to spread over her face. "I can neither affirm or deny your suspicion."

"Just share the good bits when you get home." 

Harry was still laughing as she and Yukio joined the others in the cafeteria.

Mephisto arched an eye brow and pinned Yukio with a knowing look that Yukio returned evenly with a mild expression.  

Mephisto gave Yukio a slow, pleased smile and nodded his head in acknowledgement. 

"We are all ready now, yes?" Mephisto inquired mostly of Shura who responded with a grumpy frown.

Mephisto allowed his amusement at her discomfort show and turned to the rest of the room. 

"Thank you for the epicurean adventure Rin-chan, the pineapple pizza was surprisingly tasty." He winked at Rin as Ryuji blew up at Konekomaru's smug 'I told you so!' 

"Have a lovely evening my delightful students." He turned and with a flourish and after a few swift strides he inserted his key into the pantry door. 

"Ladies first!" His gallant action completely at odds with his decidedly wicked grin.

Harry rolled her eyes while Shura looked disturbed. They stepped through to Mephisto's office with him close behind.

"Can you can find your way from here Kirigakure-sama or do you require an escort." Mephisto asked mockingly.

Shura hit the end of her patience. "Shove it up yer ass you lazy eyed fuck! I know how to do my job without any help from the likes of you!" 

She stomped back over to the door they had just walked through and crammed her key in. "And if I were you, and thank fuck I'm not, I would expect a visit from the Paladin soon so keep yer nose clean!" She shouted as she slammed the door behind her.

"And yet she uses your keys." Harry remarked drily.

Mephisto chuckled. "Too true. But I don't hold it against her, she has atrocious manners and a terrible work ethic but is easily wound and sent moving in the correct direction."

"Quite right, you wanted her to leave without asking any questions and off she went." Harry said admiringly. 

"Even better, by the time she realizes she missed the opportunity to be nosey she will be in no position to return." Mephisto held up one delicately gloved hand holding a gaudy golden key.

At this Harry laughed outright. "Oh great master! Teach me your brand of bedeviling guile so I may confound enemies and allies alike." she gave him a sweeping mocking bow that Mephisto returned without hesitation.

He grasped her hand gently and kissed her open palm.

"Galle im Herzen, Honig im Mund." He murmured huskily. "I promise to do that and more my Lady."

"But for now." He said straightening and drifting back into his earlier light tone "I require your assistance with a small project."

Harry stood attentively. "This is having to with how I colored your wards?" she asked curiously.

"Not exactly but I would like to bend that technique to create a solution to a problem." Mephisto grimaced. "I most likely won't explain this well but Amaimon hasn't spent much time in Assiah in the past, he typically keeps to his garden. He is a bit homesick and I want to use your technique to simulate a section of his garden that we both find immensely pleasant."

"That's quite sweet of you." Harry smiled at Mephisto's uncharacteristic flush.

"Even one such as I, am occasionally sentimental. Besides, who's is to say that I am not engineering a situation to my benefit?" He sniffed.

Harry rolled her eyes. "No one is accusing you of altruism so calm down. How do you want to do this?"

"I assume that before you were able to feel the shape of my magic and ran yours alongside mine?"

"Essentially. Are you wanting to do that in real time?" 

"Yes, and shift colors as we go."

"Ambitious." She drawled earning a short laugh.

"You have met me, yes?" He quipped back.

"If you are doing most of the heavy lifting I think we can make this work." 

"Excellent. Follow me please."

Mephisto stepped lightly in his house shoes to an inconspicuous set of doors and passed through. Harry followed him and was surprised to walk into a sumptuous game room liberally festooned with adorable plush animals, pillows of all shapes and sizes and towering stacks of books occupying most of the open floor.

Most of the books appeared to be manga in Japanese but here and there were magic tomes, reference books on a wide range of subjects including art books that were quite provocative with their candy floss colored depictions of intimate sexual acts. Harry felt a rush of heat and walked just a bit faster to catch up to Mephesto who didn't seem to notice that she had dallied.

He opened another door and led her into a spacious bedroom that was absolutely dominated by massive, antique looking, open topped four post bed. For a moment Harry felt a pang of nostalgia. With green drapes and scaled down significantly it was almost a dead ringer for her old bed in the Slytherin dorms.

As it was, the bed was liberally festooned with swaths of what appeared to be silk in harmonious shades of purple, the pink being, thankfully, relegated to the outer room.

Ironically Harry thought that this room, scale aside, looked more like an 11 year old girl's room than the room of her actual 11 year old girl self.

In fact the only green to be seen, like a weed in a sea of lilacs, was Amaimon who was propped up bed reading.

Amaimon didn't bother looking up at Mephisto's entrance "Are they alright Anuie? You were gone a bit longer than I expected you to be." 

"Yes, everything is resolved satisfactorily for the time being and I also brought home a visitor."

Amaimon put his book aside and looked up with a bored expression that swiftly rearranged into something almost resembling happiness.

"Angharad-chan." He slid out of bed and in three wide steps had swept her up into a crushing hug. "I didn't expect to see you so soon!"

"Likewise." Harry said somewhat muffled by his chest and the fabric of his yukata.

Mephiso rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Amaimon, kindly refrain from asphyxiating her before she has a chance to help with your surprise."

Amaimon stepped back suddenly leaving Harry wobbling precariously.

Mephisto conjured his favorite pink and white polka dot cravat and guided Amaimon back to the bed.

"I am going to blindfold you and you are going to sit and wait patiently without peeking, am I clear?" Mephisto said sternly.

"Yes Anuie. I understand." Amaimon obediently scooted back into his previous spot nodding when he was ready. Mephisto snapped his fingers and the pink and white fabric settled in place, securely covering Amaimon's eyes.

"Ready my lady?" Mephisto murmured to Harry.

"Lets do this." She said, cracking her knuckles and producing her wand.

Mephisto smiled "Firstly, a warm shade of yellow, not quite an orange but leaning in that direction."

Harry closed her eyes and extended her senses looking for the thread of sensation she remembered from before and relaxed fractionally once she felt it. So similar and yet different to her own, altered magic. 

She focused on filling her mind with a warm golden glow and then allowed it to ebb outwards riding the currents and eddies of Mephisto's virtuoso weaving.

"Lovely my lady, keep it steady while I tie them together." 

Harry focused on being open and calm, a small speck in a sea of scintillating light, allowing Mephisto the liberty to draw on her as he needed to suit his purpose.

"Now a vibrant magenta shading close to purple." 

Harry obligingly shifted her visualization to that of a amethyst cave, an inner glow captured by endless iterations of the same deep purple prisms. 

She turned the intensity of the color up in her mind, making the cave come to life in a blazing flash of light.

Next to her Mephisto took in a shocked breath but did not alter the flow of his weaving.

Harry stayed with that image for several moments allowing the pinkish purple to suffuse her being from fingertip to fingertip.

"Blue like the color of Rin-chan and Yuki-chan's flames."

Harry brought forth the memory of the blue flames lashing out from Yukio's frozen form, but instead of jumping back, this time she braced herself and opened her arms.

The flames jumped forward hungrily seeking fuel and slammed into her body lifting her up.

Harry waited for gravity to reassert it's dominance but the anticipated impact never came.

Instead she hung suspended in a writhing cocoon of fire.

Mephisto was not prepared for Harry to suddenly burst into flame and held back his startled exclamation with iron willpower, knowing that if he interrupted her now she could lose control and kill them all. Instead he firmly ignored the terrifying display and focused on completing his task quickly.

Struggling to stay afloat of the massive surge of power, Harry was starting to flag when Mephisto's voice softly reached her.

"My lady, very slowly and very carefully pull back."

Harry focused on the individual flames dancing through her and curling up her body imagining them being called back to their point of origin like a pack of unruly but ultimately friendly dogs.

Slowly the flames peeled away until she was held up on the currents of her magic alone.

Mephisto breathed a sigh of relief and then positioned himself to catch her.

"All done!" He said loudly and with a jerk she became fully aware of the fact that she was nearly touching the vaulted ceiling. Instinctively she flailed, with a squawk she tumbled out of the air and into Mephisto's arms.

"MAGNIFICENT!" He enthused as he twirled her around before he kissed her fully on the mouth and tossed her on the bed next to an anxious and fidgety Amaimon.

"One moment longer my dear Amaimon, let me get comfortable."

Mephisto kicked off his house shoes which promptly poofed off somewhere and slid into bed on the side opposite Amaimon with Harry in the middle.

He snapped his fingers and swapped Harry's sensible but less comfortable attire for a soft silk robe in midnight blue with blue flame details.

"Hey!" Harry started but stopped at Mephisto's hushing motion.

He drew the blanket up over them and made sure the pillows were extra fluffy. 

"Amaimon, you may remove your blindfold now."

Amaimon did as he was told and looked around the room expectantly.

"Anuie, I don't see what is different?" 

Harry was similarly confused until Mephisto snapped his fingers and plunged the room into sudden darkness.

"Now look up!" Mephisto said with a note of pride in his voice.

Harry gasped. Above her, spun through the darkness on the finest filaments were luminescent clouds of color. 

As she focused on them a bit more they snapped into focus and Harry was in awe all over again.

Instead of galaxies of freewheeling light she realized she was actually looking at hundreds of intricately detailed bioluminescent plants, or more accurately, a highly detailed four dimensional magical hologram.

"ANUIE!" Amaimon gaped in open wonder. "It looks just like my garden at home!" 

Harry amended her mental description to "a highly detailed four dimensional magical holographic memory". Having a rudimentary understand of the demands of enchanting a pensive Harry was suitably in awe of the level of skilled control Mephisto displayed.

"Anuie, it should be near dawn back home, how is it the plants are at the peak of their night cycle?" Amaimon asked still overawed by the vision suspended above them.

"Ah! Clever question. I have looped it to a previous evening and am taking advantage of the movement of Gehenna alongside of Assiah, which dilates the time relative to the viewer giving us a seemingly long window of opportunity to observe your garden at the peak of it's brilliant display." Mephisto explained as he reclined comfortably.

He felt calm and restful laying next to Harry while passively letting the sound of Amaimon presumably giving her a verbal tour of all the different varieties of bioluminescent flora that were suspended above them in all their virtual glory.

"This is peaceful." he thought and right on the tail end of that thought came the recent memory of the moment where Harry nearly caused him to have a heart attack. Only his will, honed by centuries of focused living and scheming, had kept the intricate spell work from blowing them sky high. He surmised that she had drawn on her bonds with Rin and Yukio to manifest the flames but that made the act no less remarkable. The additional effect of the flames lifting her like she was light enough to float on a feather, sent chills down his spine.

Reflexively Harry snuggled a bit closer, presumably to help him stay warm. "What a very human response." he thought but refrained from voicing that opinion about someone he felt the need to be close to.  

To think that the troubled child of prophesy, the persecuted martyr of the wizarding world was up and coming demon royalty. She needed time and experience, her powers would have to be carefully cultivated but she would be magnificent and terrible in the end. A force of creation that hadn't been seen on Assiah since the time of her penultimate ancestors.

Mephisto spent his time ruminating on the possibilities before him in his pursuit of his goals now that he had a hidden queen on the board. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that it took him a while to realize that Amaimon had stopped talking and Harry was also strangely silent. 

Looking over at them he was surprised to see them both asleep snoring softly. Amaimon had Harry wrapped in his arms like she was a particularly fragile teddy bear and he had missed the moment when she had twinned her legs in his.

They looked positively adorable and he decided to leave them be.

Sneaking silenty from the bed, he quickly stepped into his game room and resolved to call Yukio-chan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Most of these plants were projects that Oniisan helped me with when I was still very young. Of course Oniisan likes to name things after himself so the enzyme that makes them glow is called Luciferase."
> 
> Harry snorted. "That is incredibly silly of him!"
> 
> "I know but I wasn't going to tell him that! I like being alive!"
> 
> "Lucifer is that bad huh?"
> 
> Amaimon cocked his head thoughtfully. "He is very.....detached. He has strong desires but doesn't see past his own wants and needs. Considering he is second only to Otōsama he is powerful....dangerous. Capable of complete and utter destruction. I am fairly powerful and long lived in my own right, but compared to Oniisan I will forever be a child."
> 
> "I see....that must make your relationship somewhat difficult."
> 
> "All of our relationships are difficult. Anuie in truth is the best of us, though he would deny it if he was actually paying any attention to this conversation at all."
> 
> "What do you think is bothering him?"
> 
> "He's a little preoccupied with his plans, things aren't going quite the way he expected them to."
> 
> "Hmmmm....well your plants are lovely just the same."
> 
> "Thank you Angharad-chan. Can I hold you for a while?"
> 
> "Sure, just don't squish me. I like being able to breathe."
> 
> "Of course, it's a rather nice feeling after all. Assiah is quite remarkable in that way. At first I didn't understand Anuie's fascination with this place; In the past my time here was tainted by suffering as I rarely had a host body that could sustain me for long. Even then I mostly stayed in my own domain with my subjects, not having many reasons to interact above ground. But since Otōsama has been so fixated on manifesting here recently I decided I should get a better understanding of what is at stake."
> 
> "What do you think?"
> 
> "It is worth saving as it is. Part of me still wishes to wash it clean and bring it back to the garden it once was but I am beginning to understand Anuie's fascination with humanity."
> 
> "I find that deeply reassuring, thank you Oniisan."
> 
> "You are welcome Imouto."
> 
>  
> 
> Translation note:
> 
> Galle im Herzen, Honig im Mund = Heart of gall, tounge of honey


	13. Let's Make It An Early Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Yukio discuss Harry and Yukio's kiss. Shiemi wanders upstairs and surprises the twins coming out of the shower.

Rin watched Yukio watch Harry leave with Mephisto and wondered what hell was going on. There was something about the exchange between Mephisto and Yukio that didn't sit well with him but he couldn't detect any anxiety from Yukio so he let it go.

He began putting away leftovers and cleaning up pizza pans while Yukio talked to the students about their evening plans. From what he could overhear the general consensus was to turn in and make it an extra early night.

Rin found himself ageeing with the other Paiges, even though it was late afternoon at best it had been a difficult day. All he wanted to do was lay around and not think for a while. He secretly hoped that Yukio didn't have any ambitions plans for the rest of the evening.

Yukio quietly came back into the kitchen and began helping Rin with his self appointed task.

"Nii-san, what do think about heading upstairs when we are done cleaning up?" Yukio asked conversationally.

"I think that is a fantastic idea." Rin said with some relief. "I'm not tired so much as I'm just done with people today."

"Exactly my thoughts." Yukio sighed. 

"Shiemi-chan said she was going to take a bath. Takada-kun is still asleep but I made a plate for him in case he gets up. Miwa-kun and Sugaro-kun are still pretty upset about Shima, even though they are hiding it well and they said they were going to study until they got tired. Kamiki-kun and Paku-kun disappeared back to their room as soon as it was polite to do so and with Shura gone I feel like I can actually relax."

"Are we waiting up for Harry-chan?" Rin asked.

"She doesn't expect us to and I gave her my cram school key and dorm key so she can get home if Anuie decides to be....capricious." 

Yukio laughed and shook his head at a sudden thought that crossed his mind. 

"You know, Anuie wanted her to help him with some spell work and if it's anything on the level of what she did yesterday she going to be asleep and drooling on the nearest horizontal suface almost as soon as she is finished."

"You don't think she's coming home tonight?" Rin said with a slight note of alarm.

"She will probably stay over there." Noticing Rin working himself up he headed him off. "Relax, she's more than a match for Anuie, he won't get away with anything she doesn't want him to and if you hadn't noticed he is strangely considerate of her."

"That's true, she did literally wipe the floor with him." 

Rin cracked a wide smile. "And I think it is safe to say that Amaimon would rather chew off his own arm than let any harm come to her."

Yukio laughed. "Come on, I think we are done in here."

"Just a moment." Rin rummaged through the fridge and pulled out two of the leftover fruit milks from Shiemi's earlier store run.

He tossed the matcha flavor to Yukio and popped open the banana while they walked up to their room.

"Mmmm these are good." Rin sighed appreciatively while Yukio made a small noise of assent.

Rin opened the door and kicked his house shoes off just inside the door.

"You didn't see it earlier because you were still in bed but when I let the class into the building Kamiki-san was being a real bitch to Shiemi-chan."

"Nii-san!" Yukio admonished from where he was changing out his boxers for sleep pants. "You shouldn't say such things about your class mates."

"Yeah, well she deserves it for sending Sheimi-chan to the store by herself while they were waiting for us. Kamiki-san didn't give her any money I might add, and then laughed behind Shiemi-chan's back when she came back with every fruit milk flavor because she never told Shiemi-chan what flavors to get!"

"I don't know if Shiemi-chan has ever been to any store other than her mother's ever in her entire life, and I don't think she's ever had fruit milk either. You know she typically only drinks tea. I overheard Shiemi-chan ask Kamiki-san if she could try some and Kamiki-san pretended like she couldn't hear her."

Yukio frowned angrily. "What a total bitch! She had better curb that behavior or Harry-chan will curb it for her and if Harry-chan won't I will."

"There's the Yuki-chan we know and love!"

Yukio blushed horribly. "Nii-san!"

Rin ignored his twin's bashful behavior and clamored into bed. "Come on, get in." He said holding back the covers for Yukio.

Yukio double checked his charge and alarm settings on his phone and set it on the floor next to the bed.

He turned out the lights and got under the covers with Rin. There was some awkward shuffling and rearranging of limbs.

"I'm sorry." Rin said in a quiet voice. "This was easier with Harry here."

"It's fine, you are just over thinking things Nii-san." Yukio turned to face Rin and snaked his arm lightly over his waist. "Can I try something to help you relax?"

"I suppose if you think it will help." 

Yukio nodded and swiftly skimmed his hand down and along the section of Rin's tail that he could reach easily, gently carding his finger tips through the short velvety fur.

Goosebumps broke out on Rin's skin in a wave as he instantly reacted to the stimulation.

"That." Rin panted. "Is the opposite of relaxed!"

"I'm not done yet but I will stop if you want me too."

"I....do you know what you are doing to me?!" Rin whined.

Yukio leaned back on his elbow to observe Rin. "Increased heart rate and respiration, dilated pupils, flushing, yes Nii-san I know what I am doing to you."

"Why?" Rin squeaked out.

Yukio frowned "What do you mean?"

Rin coughed slightly his chest suddenly tight. "You have Harry now...."

Yukio gave him an odd look. "And so do you, and so does whoever else she wants to be with."

"Then earlier tonight?" Rin trailed off questioningly.

"You want to know what we were doing?" Yukio asked in a dark tone. At Rin's tremulous yes he wasted no time continuing his ministrations.

"I brought her upstairs so I could give her my keys where Anuie wouldn't see, and then I told her I wasn't going to tell her who and what she could fuck." Rin started noticeably at Yukio's casual obscenity. 

"I told her my concerns about Anuie and let her know that I was interested and you probably were too." Yukio shrugged lightly.

"Yes, yes, she's so incredibly hot."

Yukio felt his heart thump wildly in his chest as Rin echoed his sentiment. The atmosphere was charged as Yukio absently pulled on Rin's tail.

With a snarl Rin snapped his teeth, accidentally digging into Yukio's shoulder. His sharp fangs easily pierced Yukio's skin and he tasted blood. Yukio tensed and stifled a shout as a sheet of blue flames rolled up and over them both.

Just as suddenly as they appeared, the flames died down and with one last lingering caress they withdrew completely.

"What the hell was that?" Yukio said breathily.

"I'm pretty sure you triggered some kind of defense mechanism when you pulled my tail, sorry for biting you Yuki!"

Yukio rolled his eyes. "No, I meant the flames. Did that happen just because of our proximity and individual emotional states, because if that's the case it's going to make things damn inconvenient going forward."

Rin parsed what Yukio was saying and contemplated the residual sensation. "No, I don't think so. It didn't feel like it came from either of us.....so Harry-chan?"

Yukio snorted sardonically. "I wonder Anuie thought of that, I'll bet you she scared the crap out of him."

"I can see it now! There in the middle of whatever ridiculousness he wants her to do then suddenly, FOOF!" Rin mimed an explosion with his hands.

Yukio just giggled helplessly at Rin's antics.

"I would love to see her ruin all of his expensive furniture. Also, he's such a germaphobe normally it's bizzare to wonder how he would go about being with any one in the first place."

Yukio just wiggled his fingers in the air and said "Magic!" and laughed some more.

Rin smiled warmly. "You are a little punch drunk aren't you."

"Endorphins, dopamine, serotonin.....I'm high as a kite. Shower before I pass out?"

"Yeah we can make it a quick one." Rin chuckled at Yukio's frank assessment as he grabbed the towels and necessary toiletries. He chucked their dirty clothes in the hamper and grabbed fresh night clothes for them both.

The made quick work of scrubbing up and realizing that Yukio's bite wound was a bit deeper than they originally both thought; Yukio decided to leave his shirt off until he could bandage it properly.

They did not expect to encounter Shiemi in the hallway.

"Oh! Yuki-chan, your shoulder!"

"Shiemi-chan what are you doing up here?" Yukio asked in a worried tone.

"I'm sorry to intrude but I got bored so I came to see if you were still up." Shiemi shifted nervously "I heard the shower running and decided to wait but I don't want to interrupt your plans."

Rin and Yukio exchanged glances. "You aren't interrupting anything except possibly Yukio getting bandages but honestly I would rather have you help him out. You have much more training then I do with this sort of thing."

Shiemi blushed prettily. "Ok, I would love to help."

They shuffled into the bedroom and Yukio pulled out his medical bag.

Yukio sighed. "Normally I would irrigate a wound like this with holy water but since yesterday I seriously doubt I could tolerate it. Shiemi-chan what would you recommend for a demonic patient?"

"Um, well in most situations demon healing factor is a benefit but with puncture wounds it increases the risk of inclusion and abscess. I would use a tincture of turmeric in a Witch-Hazel base to flush the wound and once the wound is debrided and clear of foreign bodies I would close the deepest cuts with sutures or sterile strips keeping sections exposed for drainage. I would then cover the wound with a light layer of silver infused Aloe Vera, once I have made sure the patient isn't allergic to silver, and cover the wound with a sterile gauze pad to catch any seepage."

Yukio smiled widely. "All correct Shiemi-chan, aside from the tamer meister you really should try for doctor. You have a real gift with demon pharmaceuticals and your ability to assess and create a treatment plan is exceptional considering your relative lack of experience."

Rin smiled at her blush. "You really are good at this Shiemi. I know Harry will support you in anything you want to do but I could really see you becoming a doctor."

"You are both so kind to me." Shiemi bowed.

"Nonsense. You are our familiar's Imouto now and before that you have been my only friend other than Rin for years and he's stuck with me so he doesn't even really count."

"Hey Yukio! Be nice!" Rin said in mock outrage.

"Oh hush Nii-san, I'm plenty nice to you." Yukio took on a softer tone. "What I'm trying to say is we consider you family so don't feel like you have to earn our regard. We like you just the way you are, however you want to be."

Shiemi cried a few happy tears and smiled brightly at Yukio. 

"Well then let's get your shoulder patched up so you can get on with your evening."

As Shiemi was gloveing up and examining Yukio's wound Rin took the opportunity to question her about her earlier comments.

"Shiemi, what exactly did you think Yukio and I were planning for this evening?"

"Well, since we had a very stressful day and our game night was cancelled I assumed you would be unwinding together and I didn't want to intrude." Shiemi paused as she carefully dried Yukio's wound leaving it stained bright yellow from the antiseptic rinse. "But I suppose I had good timing catching you on the way out of the shower."

Yukio stopped breathing for a second and then turned bright red before launching into a coughing fit.

"Oh! Oh no, Yukio are you ok, you aren't reacting to the rinse are you?" Shiemi said worriedly.

"No, he's fine. I think you surprised him at just the right moment so now he's choking on his spit."

Yukio nodded quickly and Shiemi was quick to put pressure on the wound.

"Don't move like that!" She admonished. "You will start bleeding again! Let me get these wounds closed before you mess it up even more."

"Yes Shiemi-chan." Yukio said meekly.

Rin laughed at Yukio's predicament and continued his line of questioning. "It doesn't bother you, the idea of me and Yukio being... close?"

"No, why should it? You are both at least half demon and social grooming is totally fine between demons, even expected between close siblings or mates." Satisfied that the wound wasn't going to start bleeding again Shiemi began laying steri strips over the deepest cuts of the wound to draw the pierced flesh back together.

"That's strange. In all my time as an Exwire and then as an Exorcist I have never come across any information about demon family structures or mating habits." Yukio gave a small sound of frustration at the gap in his education. "The materials all focus on dealing with individual, hive or pack organized demons or with kingdom affiliations and that's it." 

"Grandma used to complain about the Vatican's educational reform all the time. She insisted I read her old textbooks instead of the newer revised versions. I still have all of those books if you would like to borrow them." Shiemi gently coated the wound with antibiotic gel.

Yukio made a happy humming noise. "That feels fantastic by the way and yes please, I really need to read those books. Nii-san and I are sort of stumbling in the dark and Anuie is not exactly volunteering information."

"Well, from what I can tell you guys are doing just fine. Harry is a strong female and Sir Pheles is already a well established demon if a bit of a loner. But to be fair, he would never get a moments peace if any other demons thought he was even remotely interested in building a family. You may outrank him soon on the the social hierarchy just because of the circumstances of your birth, but he is your elder brother in blood and deed and that counts for something. As long as you stick together you should have no problem growing your family into a powerful clan."

"Our family." Rin said firmly. "You are stuck with us so you had better get used to it!"

"Our family." Shiemi echoed with a smile. She taped Yukio's gauze down and began cleaning up supplies while he got his shirt on.

"Oh no!" Shiemi cried in sudden despair. "What if Sir Pheles doesn't accept me as family!?"

"Then I will take a page from Harrys book and beat him senseless." Rin growled out.

"She didn't!?" Shiemi gasped in shock.

"Oh she certainly did, beat him bloody and unconscious. Scared the crap out of all of us because at first we thought she was going to run him through with her sword." Yukio said with some amusement.

"Aiiie! Nee-san is so bad ass!" Shiemi squealed.

"Hey, that's my line!" Rin griped at a still dazed Shiemi.

At that moment Yukio's ring tone went off. He checked the caller Id. "Shiemi, it's Anuie calling, I will ask him for you ok?"

"Ok." She squeaked out.

"Moshi-moshi!" Yukio answered the phone and immediately held it away from his ear.

"My dear Yuki-chan! I apologize for the phone call but Harry-chan fell asleep and I am loathe to move her. You won't miss her too terribly if she stays the night here." Mephisto told more than he asked and Yukio rolled his eyes.

"That's fine Anuie, just make sure to feed her before she leaves in the morning because we are going to have an early breakfast here. Also, I have two questions for you. First, how is Harry doing after channeling the flames?" Yukio asked seriously.

Mephisto was silent for a moment before continuing smoothly. "Well, aren't you surprisingly well informed!?"

"We both saw and felt the flames but they passed through and around us and we both felt that they were focused Harry as the progenitor." Yukio explained calmly.

"I am surprised at your placid acceptance of the matter. In the moment it was completely unexpected, she surprised me so thoroughly that I very nearly lost control of the spell, which would have resulted in a truly catastrophic explosion."

Mephisto's smooth, cultured voice took on a slightly strained quality. 

"While I am certain I could survive such a thing, True Cross Acadamy and Town would have been vaporized.

He snorted. "And then, as if that wasn't enough excitement already, she levitated nearly to the ceiling before I could finish off the spell and bring her down. Her contribution to my spell work is simply phenomenal, but I could have done without the surprises!"

Yukio was flabbergasted over how close they all came to annihilation. "Anuie, we really need to get out to train with those flames as soon as possible."

"Agreed Yuki-chan but it will have to wait a few days, I am expecting a not so surprise inspection by the Vatican that will include the Paladin and possibly the Torturer in their team. I think it's fairly obvious that we must be discreet." Mephisto sighed. "Anything else you can think of we need to discuss now?"

"Yes, Anuie. I have Shiemi-chan here now and she was unsure of her welcome into the family and was concerned for your feelings on the matter."

Mephisto chuckled good naturedly. "Please assure Shiemi-Chan that I am exceptionally pleased to welcome her to our unorthodox little family. As a matter of fact I am planning a family outing for all of us to the place we had our luncheon at on Saturday. Please do not share any further details, the Harry-chan was quite insistent on it being a surprise and while I complained earlier about her propensity to shock and deviate from any known norm, this is one situation where surprise is preferred."

"Allright then." Yukio yawned. "Have a good night Anuie."

"Yes Yuki-chan, I shall see you tomorrow." 

And abruptly the call dropped.

"Is he always like that on the phone?" Shiemi asked as she rubbed her ears.

Rin yawned. "Yeah pretty much."

"Ok well, um I guess I will leave now so you can both get some sleep." Shiemi reluctantly began moving towards the door.

"Why don't you stay?" Yukio asked as he finished straightening up the bed. "Harry isn't here tonight so there is plenty of room and we would prefer it if you aren't sleeping alone, at least for tonight. Give it a try and if you don't like it I promise to never push the issue again."

"Oh, uh, ok, thanks." Shiemi blushed brightly.

Rin handed her a long shirt. "You might want to change out of your yukata as it can get warm sleeping with us."

Shiemi changed while Rin and Yukio obligingly looked away.

"Where should I lay down?" Shiemi asked.

Rin shrugged. "I need to sleep on the outside so my tail doesn't get trapped. Yukio, middle or outside?"

"Um, middle I suppose." He said stifling another yawn.

Shiemi nodded and scooted across the bed taking the side that extended into Harry's room. 

Yukio laid down next to her on his right side to take pressure off his left shoulder which was healing quickly but still quite sore. "Is this ok?" He asked as he played big spoon to Shiemi's little spoon.

Shiemi sleepily nodded and snuggled back into his chest. "It's nice Yuki-chan, thank you."

Rin turned out the lights and spooned Yukio from behind gently kissing just below the bandage. "I'm sorry I bit you Yuki."

"I don't mind, it didn't hurt much at the time." Yukio's smirk went unseen by Rin. "Besides, was it every bit as good as Anuie was making it seem when he was biting Harry-chan?"

Rin groaned. "Surprisingly, yes. It must be a demon thing. But the two of them in that chair, mmmmph, that was so pornographic, I thought I was the only one who noticed."

Yukio shivered. "No, I noticed. I just wasn't sure if it was innocent or not so I didn't want to say something. Now I know better, Anuie is terrifyingly adept at getting what he wants. I sometimes feel like, despite all of our struggles and effort the ending is inevitable."

"We will eventually succeed in overthrowing Satan, but the how of it, the actual path we have chosen, is the only real choice available to us. I get the feeling that Anuie is proud all of his pawns have caught on a little early, that things could have been so much worse and he would have just sat back. He would have happily watched our relationship crash and burn because in the end he would still be satisfied."

Shiemi spoke up unexpectedly. "Nee-san is the catalyst here, even though you summoned her by accident she has had a huge impact on your choices. Without her support I don't think you would have confided in me and I wouldn't have pressed the issue. Our friendship would have been hurt later on, the bigger the secret, the harder it is to keep." 

Shiemi took a deep breath and rolled over to face Yukio. "It is your decision but I think you should extend trust and take a chance on our classmates, you should at least know where they stand, with you or against you, when the inspection team comes. If they learn the truth at the wrong time and react badly it could set off a chain of events that would be difficult to control."

"What!? No way!" Rin exclaimed propping up on one elbow to peer down at Shiemi and Yukio. "Earlier they worked Yukio into a panic attack, do you think he can deal with that kind of stress right now?!"

"It makes sense Nii-chan." Yukio said calmly. "I think Shiemi's right. I have a strong feeling that time is running out and we are going have to confront the Grigori sooner rather than later." 

"The more voices we have on our side the better, and if they are against us, well then, it won't be any great loss."

Rin groaned. "Fine, I get it. There's no fucking way the Vatican is going to keep our heritage a secret, not if they are going to need a reason to execute me. Also, I hate to say it because I really don't want anyone to know but I think we need to tell them about you too so at least they will know more than the Vatican."

The silence following that statement was anything but restful.

"You do realize that this is going to really suck right?" Rin continued flatly. Yukio just reached behind him and patted Rin on the hip.

"I will call Nii-chan and his friends to standby just in case things go badly." Shiemi said seriously. "I also think you need to do this before Harry gets home. I can keep everyone safe from each other if things get heated but Harry is likely to get stabby if either of you are threatened."

"Yes, good point." Yukio sighed. "During breakfast?"

"Ukobach taught me how to make Chinese jianbing on the round griddle so I suppose we can talk while I cook, as long as I get to make at least one before we drop the news I think I will be satisfied." Rin sighed forlornly. "Worst case scenario I will have a big iron shield to hide behind.......I guess I just sort of wanted to forget, you know. It was nice for a while to feel like I had friends and that things were going to get better. The day that Tou-san died was the worst day of my life but I'm starting to realize that was just the tip of the iceberg and I am really scared of how bad this is going to be."

Yukio felt Rin's tears soaking through the back of his shirt. "Hey." He said gently. "Come here."

Shiemi scooted back and pulled Rin's hand encouraging him to climb over Yukio and into the space between them.

Rin complied slowly, the picture of misery so complete she could almost see the dark cloud gathered over his head. 

"Hey, don't cry Nii-san." Yukio pet Rin's hair. "You still have me, Shiemi-Chan, Harry-Chan, Anuie and certainly Amaimon on your side. You aren't alone."

Shiemi sat propped up on her elbow slightly, smiling gently at their display of affection.

"You two are very sweet." She said with a sigh and then startled slightly as Rin surged up to kiss her.

Rin fell back, his face wet, gasping and blushing a bright red. Taking in Shiemi's shocked expression he felt terrible. "I'm so sorry! I just....you looked so pretty and I.....I'm going to shut up now." burning with embarrassment Rin shut his eyes.

He startled a minute later to the feel of soft lips on his own and opened his eyes to see Shiemi looking determined as she kissed him twice as hard as he had kissed her.

Shiemi pulled back slightly after a few minutes with a concerned look on her face. "Did I do that right?" she asked Yukio.

Taking in Rin's dumbfounded expression he smiled. "I don't think Nii-san has any complaints but I wouldn't say no to a kiss if you want my objective opinion." Yukio said teasingly.

"Oh, ok." Shiemi said nervously and seeing Yukio's expression falter at her hesitancy she was quick to explain. "I have had a crush on you for a long time and I think I had finally convinced myself that you didn't like me that way, so having the opportunity to kiss you......it's just a bit....I'm.....umm." she squeaked out turning a bright shade of red.

"Really!? I had no idea! That's very flattering Shiemi, you are a very beautiful girl and I find you very attractive too." Yukio smiled sheepishly. "For a long time I have been so focused on protecting Nii-san that I have been a little, unobservant?" Yukio finished his statement with a questioning tone looking to Rin for support.

Rin laughed freely. "Don't worry Shiemi-chan, until Harry showed up and literally smacked him in the face with her femininity I don't think Yuki ever looked at a girl that way."

"I looked at you." Yukio muttered uneasily to Rin.

"Yeah, I'm not a girl, and without a big long drama filled evening of Earth shaking revelations would you have done something about it ?" Rin asked boldly. Yukio ducked his head slightly avoiding Rin's knowing gaze. 

Rin sighed. "Yuki, you really are your own worst enemy. Please trust us to have your best interests at heart and help you get through this." 

"Wow, Yuki-chan, I admire your dedication but you could have really hurt yourself." Shiemi frowned. "Please don't hurt yourself anymore, ok?"

"I'm trying Shiemi-chan, Nii-san and Harry-chan are helping a lot so don't worry too much." Yukio said with a bit of false cheer.

"Let me help too please?" Shiemi pleaded with her warm green eyes full of unshed tears.

"Ok." Yukio said softly.

Shiemi moved slowly forward and with a slight frown like she was trying to figure out a complicated problem she leaned partially over Rin so she could edge into Yukio's space. 

Shiemi leaned forward and drew Yukio towards her. They hovered over Rin for a moment before Shiemi licked her lips. "I need you to help me, help you Yuki-chan. Will you kiss me?"

Yukio responded by tilting his face and slanting his lips across hers gently.

Shiemi pulled back when she felt Yukio move away but stayed propped against Rin with a soft smile on her face.

Eventually Rin couldn't hold back his discomfort. "Oooh, ouch. Someone is laying on my tail. I don't wanna get everyone up but...."

With a sigh Yukio scooted back and stood up from the edge of the bed. Shiemi shufflfled over and watched in fascination as Rin stretched and flicked his tail just like a cat would. The mental image of Rin wearing cat ears and a bell collar sent her into a flurry of giggles.

"What's so funny Shiemi-Chan?" Yukio asked from where he was setting the alarm on his phone.

"Rin-chan lookes like a little kitty cat!" She enthused.

Rin paused in his ministrations. "What!? My tail was all bunched up, what else was I supposed to do?!"

Yukio laughed along with Shiemi while Rin tiredly buried his face in his pillow. "Just for that Shiemi-chan......" He flicked his tail over and lazily let the silky tuft of hair at the end tickle her nose until she sneezed and moved to bat it away.

"All right you two break it up. We really need to get some sleep and if you start playing with Nii-san's tail he's going to get bitey again."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the reminder four eyes!" Rin mumbled, slightly annoyed that his teasing was cut short.

Yukio came around the end of the bed and crawled up between Rin and Shiemi. "Now, now Nii-san, let's just focus on being as well rested as possible for tomorrow." 

Yukio settled in under the blanket and opened his arms for Shiemi to scoot back into. She snuggled in with a sigh. "Good night Yuki, good night Rin." she said sleepily.

Rin was already snoring lightly. Yukio squeezed her lightly. "Goodnight Shiemi-chan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What's this? Ah yes, I hear you wondering "What is with these demons and sex?" Despite the fact that I tend to be more discreet than most about my better nature I am a demon and as a demon it could be said that I am a living incarnation of sin."
> 
> "Fufufu! Complete hearsay! But it *is* true that demon social structures and mating habits are a bit of an....anathema to most humans. As we are long lived and have no biological impetus to secure a reproductive partner to ensure our genetics survive to be passed on to future generations we can afford to be more......liberal with our affections."
> 
> "I for one tend to be less demonstrative than some of my brethren, preferring to keep my sexual exploits behind closed doors. After all, a gentledemon never shows his tail, unless asked politely and then persuaded by the promise of a potential orgasm; but I don't mind you peeking in trough the keyhole my dears. For you, and only for you, I am a mostly open book."
> 
> "So with that in mind I fully expect you to watch the rest of the show, after all you have made it this far, and by now you should realize there is really no turning back."
> 
> "That itchy feeling in your mind, that is the true curse of humanity, it's cardinal sin, the desire for knowledge. So you had best follow along and feed that demon as you are able, lest it consume you entirely and take your body out for a spin as easily as putting on a new suit!"
> 
> "Auf Wiedersehen für jetzt!" ~☆
> 
> "EINS, ZWEI, DREI!" :::snap::: POOF!


	14. Strange Bedfellows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Mephisto play a game of verbal and physical tag before they get sexy with Amaimon.
> 
> This chapter earns the E rating.

Mephisto snapped his phone shut with one hand and massaged his forehead with the other. 

While he wasn't concerned about his little brothers and the possibility of them playing with Shiemi, it would put a serious crimp in his plans if Shiemi didn't hit it off with Amaimon. Knowing how much of an introvert Shiemi could be, he was really hoping that her excitement over seeing Amaimon's garden would help her overcome her shyness and increase her tolerance of Amaimon's generally rude demeanor.

Mephisto sighed and then startled slightly as Harry appeared like an apparition on the edge of his field of vision.

"Thank you for calling Yuki." She said with a yawn as she walked sleepily towards where he was sprawled in an oversized bean bag chair.

"I thought you were sleeping." Mephisto said lowly as he watched her robe gape open, alternately flashing the curve of her breast or her thigh in the dim light.

Harry yawned again raising her arms in a back popping stretch. "I was, but Amaimon rolled over taking me with him. Then I heard you talking and decided to come and see what was going on."

"Mearly reassuring my overprotective little brothers that their familiar is safe and sound." 

"Ooo, ouch. You can't be mad when people think the worst of you if they only ever see you at your worst. Aside from Amaimon, do you have anyone you are close with?" 

Mephisto stayed stubbornly silent which Harry took to mean she had hit a nerve.

"Look, they trust you, inasmuch as they trust me to be able to look after myself, and they trust that you don't mean me any harm. Even if you want to have your wicked way with me." Harry teased.

Mephisto huffed and sat up sharply from where he had been reclined comfortably.

"I am not certain at what point I began to care, I am sure it has something to do with that thrice damned vow Yukio extracted from me."

"As if anyone could make you do anything you didn't want to. You, the angel who flipped creation a two fingered salute and walked out on the job you were literally created for, allowed a 15 year old to bully you into a contract?! Impossible! Here's the thing about being a professional bullshitter, never believe your own lies!"

"I have had just enough of your impudence witch!" Mephisto said with a growl his eyes narrowed in rage.

"Well I have had enough of your self pitying bullshit, so fucking bring it on mate!"

Mephisto's growl deepened and Harry saw him shift his weight forward ready to spring. She feigned arrogant nonchalance, turning her attention to one of the many piles of books. Being taunted and then summarily ignored was the thing that sent him over the edge. With a roar he sprung up, intent on taking down his prey.

Harry waited until the second his feet left the floor before she snapped her fingers and activated the spell that she had been weaving since she came to the door and overheard Mephisto talking to Yukio.

A small hop was enough to send her well above Mephisto's reach as he sailed way past the mark, crashing into the opposite wall.

"Ungrateful wretch!" He screeched as a pile of stuffed animals rose up in a cloud around him. "These are all first edition collectibles and if I find any damage..."

"You'll what?" Harry said cutting him off. "Spank me for being naughty? You'll have to catch me first old man!" She said as she walked lightly on the ceiling.

Mephisto ground his teeth in frustration. He wasn't quite sure what she had done to disrupt the gravity in the room. It was a nightmare to navigate; all of his carefully cultivated possessions were falling in all directions like so much glitter in a snow globe. His ability to track her motion was impeded by pastel faux fur, priceless books and pricey knick knacks.

Before he had a chance to calm down and pick apart her magic Harry suddenly appeared above him and with a firm grip on his yukata she flung him upwards, or downwards if one took into account the variable gravity, into the ceiling.

"Tag! You're it!" She said cheerfully from somewhere near the floor.

Mephisto was suddenly stuck by the 'gravity' of the situation in more ways than one. Here he was making cheap puns while seething in impotent rage over being called out by the one being in two worlds that actually had the right of it all. Dammit! He wasn't really angry so much as he was frustrated that his plans had mutated and run amok, twisting into something that he hardly recognized.

He took a deep breath and held it in until he felt some of the more violent emotions buzzing in his chest retreat into a dull ache. Underneath it all he was scared; it had been a very, very long time since he had cared for anything, aside for base entertainment, and while he retained enough of his demonic nature to maintain the facade of impartiality the truth was much deeper. 

He should have told Harry exactly what the hallows were the first time he met her and done everything in his power to protect her from her fate; if only to save himself the bleed over from her human emotions.

"Yeah. You get it now." Harry said matter of factly as she sat cross-legged in front of him making only the barest attempt at modesty. 

"Now imagine how I feel about it." 

"I wish I could, imagine that is." He said bitterly."Instead I feel you as if you were inside of me!"

Harry shrugged. "And I feel Yukio, Rin and Shiemi. If things go the way you hope and Shiemi and Amaimon from a bond then I will feel him too, so don't complain to me over a burden halved!" She said with a sneer as she threw his earlier words back in his face.

"I cannot change who I am nor change my nature my lady." He spat.

"No, but you can adapt or die, as they say, and save the pied piper in sheep's clothing act for the rest of the tools. Treat me, Amaimon, Rin, Yukio and Shiemi better than that, after all we are highly specialized." 

Mephisto raised an eyebrow at her disturbingly accurate malaphor. "It doesn't bother you that if you continue down this path you will be setting the vestiges of your humanity ablaze like so much chaff? Do you think you are truly ready for that?"

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" Harry asked wryly. "The only humans that have ever stood between me and certain death were my parents and my foster family. They protected me because they valued me as an individual, not as a magical messiah or virgin sacrifice to keep the monsters at bay a bit longer."

She snarled at Mephisto's skeptical expression. "When Yukio pulled me out of limbo I saw two people who were wounded and flawed but still trying to protect each other. Even at his lowest Rin treated me with kindness and understanding. Even when his reality was crumbling around him Yukio was concerned about my hardships and feelings. They see me and value me for no other reason than they are kind hearted and good. I would burn this world to ash if I thought it would make them smile." 

Harry's eyes gleamed fanatically and Mephisto instinctively recoiled from the ghostly blue flames that flickered in their green depths.

Harry shrugged and her eyes became calm once more.

"But that's not what Yukio and Rin want, so I will settle for keeping them and their family of choice alive and intact. That includes you Anuie. So get your big girl panties on and rethink the game! You have us so use us! Give us the training we need to kill a god so we can do the deed and get on with living our stupidly long lives!"

A thick silence lay between them now as Harry gave Mephisto time to think. Impulsively she reached out and clasped one of his deceptively slender hands in her own, turning it over to run her finger tips down the faint lines in his palm.

"Trying to divine my future for me my lady?" He asked in an emotion roughened voice.

Harry's laughter rang out like a bell. "Oh no, absolutely not. I seem to remember telling you that I was pants at divination. That was truth not hyperbole, too many different possibilities surrounding my choices I suppose." 

"Actually I was wondering if the old wives tale about the size of a man's penis relative to his hands was true or if with demons the comparison had to be made to the tail?"

Taken aback momentarily Mephisto quickly rallied a response. "My aren't you a blunt one my lady, so very forward." He purred leaning into her personal space. 

"If I show you my tail I expect a similar courtesy, after all it is a rather delicate and sensitive organ."

Harry clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh! This morning Rin was all flustered because Yukio had been messing with his tail. I thought he was hurt so I offered to look at for him! Oh my god! He must think I'm a total pervert!"

Mephisto chuckled. "I think darling Yuki-chan my be the perverted one in that scenario."

"I wonder if they have fucked it out yet?" Harry said contemplatively.

Mephisto outright snorted. "Again with the bluntness my lady!"

"Also, what's with all the my lady crap?"

"Forgive me for being old fashioned but you never gave me leave to use your personal name."

"My name is Angharad or Harry. You have my permission to use either as the situation demands it."

"In public I am known as Johann but in private you my call me Mephisto and Samael only when we are alone or with family. That name is a secret for many reasons, all of them crucially important. That Amaimon was able to tell you such a thing in the first place should have clued me into the depth of our connection immediately."

Harry nodded understandingly. "But that still doesn't answer my question."

"Oh, you really want to know what my little brothers are up to? I believe that Shiemi is bunking with them so if they haven't, as you said, "fucked it out" they may very well still have the opportunity to do so."

Harry smiled crookedly. "So now that we have established that you have a irredeemably dirty mind, are you actually going to show me your tail or are you just going to tease?"

For a second Mephisto's breath caught painfully in his chest. 

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather I simply bring you to orgasm?"

"You show me yours, I show you mine!" Harry sing songed.

"Fine." Mephisto ground out. "But restore my play room to rights first."

Harry shrugged and clicked her fingers.

Mephisto was crouched in position ready to spring as Harry was poised to jump.

"A time sphere coupled with a complex interactive illusion! My enfant terrible!" He crowed both in irritation and pride. "You learned all that from one spell with me."

"I have always been a tactile learner and when your continued existence hinges on mastering a spell in a very narrow window of opportunity it builds an almost fanatical desire to understand. Hermione introduced me to the concept of reverse engineering and it's been a blessing and a curse. I got cocky one time and spent 15 years through the veil, so yeah."

"Come." Mephisto stood and grasped her hand leading her back to the bedroom.

"Anuie, what are you doing?" Amaimon muttered sleepily as Mephisto closed the door behind himself and Harry.

"Something undoubtedly foolhardy." Mephisto muttered. "My apologies Amaimon but I need a little light for this."

At Mephisto's command the lights rose gently giving the room a soft omnidirectional glow reminiscent of the gloaming just before sun set.

Amaimon sat up attentively in bed as Mephisto methodically slipped his yukata off his shoulders and draped it around a bed post.

Momentarily taking in the long smooth planes of his unclothed body Harry came to a decision and removed her robe with the same gravitas.

"You don't have to." Mephisto said frowning.

"You show me yours I show you mine right? That was the agreement."

Mephisto huffed and glanced at Amaimon who was tensed and ready to spring into action. "As you wish." He whispered, and then he began to change.

His smooth alabaster skin rippled like the surface of a pond during a light rain. But instead of coalescing back into whiteness he was a pale lavender where the light hit him the strongest, shading into deep indigo shadows. The reason for his dynamic coloring was the fine, short, velvety fur that covered him from head to toe.

The hair on his head was a familiar purple with pinkish overtones but longer, less controlled and somewhat bulkier, framing a face that aside from color, sharper cheekbones and more pronounced canines, looked almost the same as before. His eyes had her choking back a sharp gasp. The sclera and pupil were entirely black but the green circling those inky depths like a funerary wreath, was the exact hue that haunted her nightmares.

It was nothing she hadn't confronted before and once she got over her initial surprise she refused to be shaken by the truth of his nature. She gave him eye contact unflinchingly and waited until he nodded for her to continue.

She ran her fingers down his neck and lingered at the collection of galaxies that draped across his chest like fine jewelry. They were both there and somehow not there, the longer she looked the more she felt like she was falling in or down.

She closed her eyes to combat the sensation of vertigo even indirect exposure to his demon heart was causing and skimmed her hands down further. She noted, objectively, that he was quite a bit larger than her in this form and unless she wanted serious internal lacerations, penetrative sex while he was fully manifested was a no go.

His overall shape was still thin, almost cadaverous, but his muscles were solid and his hands were long and elegant.

She carefully broadcast her motions as she walked around him. Reaching his back she parted his hair, pleased to find that while thick it was quite supple and smooth. She draped his hair over each shoulder and gently ran the pads of her fingers along his vertebrate. She could feel where the muscles that supported his wings attached to his spine but like the the galaxies that burned and spun in his chest, his wings wavered in and out of reality at the very edge of her senses; more of a ghost of a memory than a physically tangible thing.

She brushed her hands reverently down his back, maintaining a slow but consistent pace. As she reached the small of his back she felt him tense uncomfortably.

"I can stop if you want." She said quietly.

"No." He murmured distractedly. "Finish what you started."

Harry resumed her forward progression after taking a moment to rub soothing circles above his buttocks.

Crouching down she traced the individual protrusions of his vertebrae as his spine extended out from the trunk of his body.

Mephisto shivered above her as she decended farther, gently adjusting her fingers as his short velvety fur gradually became longer and thicker.

She continued to work her fingers along his tail listening to him moan and whimper above her.

She was on her knees now and based on the steady tapering of the vertebra she guessed she had maybe a forty centimeters of his actual tail left.

Harry continued to skim her fingers down and was shocked when she abruptly ran out solid flesh and found herself gently teasing her fingers through a cascade of fine silky hair.

She had a sudden flash of insight about why he was missing the end of his tail and firmed her resolve to make this a pleasurable experience.

Mephisto's sounds of enjoyment were becoming louder and more enthusiastic. Harry kept one hand low, tugging gently and teasingly at his hairs while she ran the other back up towards his back, barely disrupting the knap of his fur as her fingers passed by. Reaching the base of his tail she massaged firmly and was rewarded with a keening whine that she felt more than she heard.

"Angharad-chan, that's enough." Amaimon gently held her wrists still until Mephisto shook himself and stepped out of her reach. She found herself sweaty, shakey and inexplicably aroused. Pressing back against Amaimon she found he was in a similar state.

Moaning she rutted shamelessly against him until Mephisto, once again as human looking as a being such as him could manage, stepped back in front of her.

Without preamble he stooped to kiss her passionately as she grunted and writhed in Amaimon's rock solid grip.

"Anuie." Amaimon gasped as Harry gave a particularly enthusiastic thrust. "Can we please move this to the bed?"

Mephisto stepped back with a devilish grin. "But Amaimon, she did say she would, and I quote, "show me hers". I find myself quite eager to see what will happen when she lets go."

Amaimon groaned. "Sometimes your games are so confusing Anuie!" he released his grip on Harry and laid back on bed dispassionately as he waited for the inevitable confrontation to play out.

Gasping, Harry was barely standing unsupported on her own two feet. She directed her lust filled gaze at Mephisto and growled lowly.

"Now, now, that's not very polite." Mephisto said, satisfaction evident in his tone. "You told me you learn best by example, mimic what I just did and let go! Considering the body you were born with the change isn't likely to be too dramatic but as you have observed me fully exposed it's only fair that I get to do the same."

Harry heard his words and rather than trying to stem the tide of her lust she let go of her inhibitions and allowed her self to simply be, without ego or preconception.

Magic surged through her veins, painfully reminding her of being bitten by the basilisk. She gasped at the feeling of her flesh rippling and changing but resisted the urge to assert control. Instead she grit her teeth and gave her magic free reign.

The hallows manifested abruptly, ripping into reality seemingly from nowhere as Harry began to shift. The cloak writhed like a living thing on her shoulders, expanding until it rose magnificently behind her.

The wand appeared with violent sounding crack of bone on bone, and the stone, formerly blacker than black, exploded into a vibrant supernova of color as she clutched it between her clasped hands and her chest. The gold that had once been Slytherin's ring oozed from between her fingers creating shiny rivulets that slid down her forearms to drip from her elbows. The metal was hot enough to burn glittery pock marks into the marble floor.

Harry could feel her flames as they curled through her body, enthusiastically coaxing the billions of microscopic crystals that collectively make up the thick pearlescent panacea that only a willing phoenix can produce, into a sympathetic inferno of rebirth and creation. 

Like a literal Prometheus who had stolen a god's fire, she opened her eyes and peered out into a world recast in scintillating degrees of azure.

"Samael?" Her voice shook uncertainly.

"I'm here Harry, just stay calm and breathe normally." he said from behind her.

"I can't see properly, everything is very blue."

Mephisto carefully walked around her. "Can you see me?"

Harry gasped. "You're so bright!" 

Mephisto was a searing pure white, spilling past the boundaries of his borrowed human body, twisting and folding in impossible to follow directions. In wonder Harry reached out and touched his chest gently; as she withdrew a thin thread of shimmering white followed the movement of her hand.

Mephisto grunted in discomfort. "Put that back please!" and as soon as she thought to let go the white thread snapped back like a rubber band.

"Oh Merlin! That was your soul wasn't it!? I am so sorry, are you ok!?" Harry was beginning to feel panicked.

"Shhhhh, shhhh. Calm down, no harm done! Instead of touching me let me touch you, yes?" Mephisto said calmly.

"All right." She said shakily.

"Thank you."

He gently ran his fingers through her still messy red hair. Her skin color had deepened into a more golden shade and from certain angles shimmering scales could be seen dusting her skin like fine glitter.

Her eyes were still humanoid in appearance but wreathed in blue flames making the phosphorescent green of her irises take on a deeper aquamarine glow.

Her demon heart, formerly the stone of resurrection, twinkled merrily like a massive chrysanthemum cut alexandrite.

Azure flames danced along the edges of wings that were similar enough to his own sundered appendages to cause him to feel a slight pang of bittersweet nostalgia.

The feathers of her wings were variegated with striations of the same pale gold as her skin, deepening into a dark tawny color at the ends. Following the line of her back, her tail, which was relatively short but fitting considering her stature, was cutely tufted at the end with a wild shock of dark red fur.

Mephisto drew his hand down her back slowly, giving her the same treatment she gave him earlier.

Harry moaned and cried in ecstasy as he grasped her hips in his hands and ran his tounge up her tail to the base of her spine.

"Mmmmm so responsive." Mephisto said as he licked his lips. "Now turn back so we can finish playing."

Harry panting and shaking once more focused on her own skinny petite body. Her bad eyes, unruly hair, scars and blemishes; she mentally embraced her human imperfections and squeezed.

She gasped "Dammit, ouch!"

"You will find that a demonic body can take quite a lot of abuse before it registers pain. By our nature, we are just more resilient that way. Human bodies on the other hand are much more fragile and register pain primarily as an early deterrent to prevent bodily harm." Mephisto lectured by way of apology.

"How did I do?" Harry asked, still a bit winded.

"Perfectly, your demon form is quite beautiful, would you like to see it?" Mephisto offered with a genuine smile.

Harry shook her head. "No, I trust you. Did I make it completely back into my human form?"

"Let's check and make sure. Up on the bed if you please, laying face down!"

Harry crawled forward and collapsed onto the silk bedding with a sigh.

Mephisto came along side her and straddled her low back being careful to keep his weight off her body.

"Amaimon, will you shift Harry-chan's hair please?"

"Yes Anuie."

Amaimon walked across the bed on his knees, his erection bobbing teasingly just outside of Harry's reach, and pulled her hair up and out of Mephisto's way.

Mephisto slid his hands down Harry's neck using his palms to gently knead her sore muscles.

"That feels lovely, is that lotion or oil?" 

"Sweet almond and cherry in a cream base, so neither or both depending on your perspective." Mephisto answered cryptically.

Harry's laughter trailed off into silence as she relaxed into the feeling of Mephisto moving his way across her shoulders, and Amaimon carding his fingers through her hair.

"You have quite a lot of scars back here." Mephisto said casually.

"Hmmm, yes, I'm aware. My relatives used to hit me a frequently, presumably to beat the magic out of me with a switch, and when that didn't work, a belt, and when that didn't work, the buckle on the belt."

Mephisto's hands clenched involuntary and he shared an enraged look with Amaimon who was equally incensed.

"Harry-chan, if you would rather sleep we can do this another time." Mephisto said soothingly.

"Don't you dare!" Harry exclaimed viciously. "If you want me you are going to take me warts and all! That happened a long time ago from my perspective. It's not good or bad anymore, it just is. They are marks of survival and that is what matters. So don't treat me like I'm some fragile little flower that's going to wilt simply because you noticed something I wasn't even trying to hide!"

"My apologies Harry-Chan." Mephisto said simply before he continued his massage.

Harry slowly began to relax again but as Mephisto began to move lower, sliding down to straddle her legs she could feel herself becoming aroused once more.

Mephisto dug his thumbs carefully into the base of her spine causing her to whine and moan. She was half raised onto her knees, practically quivering in anticipation when she felt Mephisto's weight shift.

"Turn over so I can check your front." Mephisto ordered casually and Harry complied.

Now that she was on her back she could see Amaimon watching Mephisto intently as he visually and tactilely inspected her body.

"What exactly are you looking for?" She asked squirming slightly as Mephisto settled over top of her once more.

"Residuals such as pointed ears, sharper teeth, scales or fur, abnormal muscle configuration, color changes or overly sensitive skin. The spot on you back that I just pushed on is where your tail manifests in demon form and there is clearly residual sensitivity there." Mephisto clarified. "Also, I think you may have some latent metamorphmagus ability to be able to turn back and not retain your tail."

"You don't have a tail when you change back." Harry pointed out.

"True, but I also have centuries of experience to draw on. Now open your mouth so I can check your teeth." Harry complied and as Mephisto ran his finger over her slightly longer canines he accidentally cut himself. He let Harry lap at his blood for a moment before he withdrew his digit.

"Your teeth are much sharper so be careful." Mephisto told her calmly.

Harry "mmm-hmmd" and then moaned loudly as he ran his hands down her chest.

Settling in between her legs Mephisto palpated her abdomen. Satisfied that everything was where it was supposed to be for a human he looked up to get confirmation that Harry still wanted him to touch her intimately.

"Please!?" She whined, and gasped as she felt his hands brush over her pubic mound before they settled on the insides of her knees parting her thighs further.

"Everything looks quite human down here!" Mephisto smirked. "Is there anything else you want of me?"

"Anuie!" Amaimon said exasperatedly from up near Harry's head.

"Yes!" She said heatedly. "I want for you to stop playing around and help me cast a contraceptive charm strong enough for the occasion. Then I want you to fuck me, and Amaimon, who has been incredibly patient I may add; I don't know how he has refrained from murdering you outright over the years!"

"Some days it's a close thing." Amaimon said without inflection.

"See! You are an absolute terror and if you don't quit stalling Amaimon and I are going to carry on without you!" Harry said in exasperation.

"So impatient to lose that pesky virginity!" Mephisto smirked unrepentantly. He then waved his hand slightly to get her attention and then slowly moved through the forms of warding that would protect her womb from any little demonic invaders.

"That's a bit different from what I would have done on my own but it makes sense. How long is the charm good for?"

"72 hours in Assiah when time isn't altered." Mephisto replied dutifully.

"And is time being altered now?" Mephisto shook his head no. "Cheers mate! Also, I would like to take the moment to make one thing clear; I haven't been a virgin for a while and just because my last lover was a girl doesn't mean that I'm afraid of any part of you entering any part of me, and vice versa."

Harry looked at his wickedly sharp, overly long, claw like nails that were pricking the skin of her inner thigh and amended her earlier statement. 

"Except for your fingers. In my experience it's just common courtesy to cut your nails short before cramming your fingers in a willing vagina."

Mephisto laughed and shook his right hand as if he was trying to flick water off of it.

He held his newly short and smoothly blunt nails up for Harry's approval. "Better?" he asked.

"Yes that's...." Harry trailed off into a gasp and Mephisto plunged two fingers into her without any warning.

Moaning she shifted next to Amaimon who took the initiative and kissed her, teasing her mouth with his tongue. Amaimon's hot breath sweetly fanned her face as they broke apart.

"Do you always eat candy, even in bed?" She asked wonderingly, gasping as Mephisto gave a particularly vigorous wiggle and added another finger.

Amaimon smiled rakishly. "I can't help that I like sucking on sweet things." He licked a stripe along the shell of her ear. "And you are very sweet Imouto."

Harry shivered as Amaimon took his time running his tongue down her body towards where Mephisto was playing her like an instrument. 

"Anuie, can I help?"

Mephisto chuckled. "By all means, enjoy!"

He leaned out of the way and watched as Amaimon slid his long tounge alongside his thrusting fingers before moving back up to suckle at Harry's clit.

Harry gasped and moaned and the sensations rushing through her body. Reaching out she caressed Amaimon's hardness and stroked him gently in time with Mephisto's thrusts. She could just reach his belled tip with her mouth so she laved him with her tongue like a lolly.

Amaimon's gravelly moan vibrated through her, causing her to clench on Mephisto's plunging fingers for a moment.

Amaimon lapped at the sweetness that was welling up between his Anuie's fingers before returning to sucking and licking Harry's clit.

"You both look quite lovely devouring each other." Mephisto commented in a low breathy voice. "Harry my dear, I am so very close to having my whole hand inside of you." He spread his four fingers wide, enjoying the sight of her opening gaping hungrily, before pumped his hand strongly for emphasis.

Harry released Amaimon's cock with a grunt.

"If you keep doing that." She panted. "I'm going to come hard on your hand and then I'm going to be too sensitive for anything else."

"Pity." Mephisto drawled. "I quite like watching your face as I stroke you from inside." He slipped his fingers from her as Harry whined at the loss.

Mephisto leaned down and whispered something indistinct to Amaimon who nodded and climbed back up the bed.

"Harry-chan, we believe you could take both of us at same time, what are your thoughts on the matter?"

"Uh what? Vaginally or..."

"Hmm yes vaginally, I wasn't joking about your elasticity, it's really quite remarkable."

"Yes, well fisting feels good." Harry said distractedly. "Amaimon on bottom?"

Amaimon nodded yes and gathering Harry in his arms he rolled them both until she was on top of him, straddling his hips. She leaned forward kissing him passionately as she used her hand to rub him against her wet folds.

Amaimon shuddered and gasped into her mouth. "Please Imouto-chan!" He whined as she slowly sat upright working his thick cock in short strokes.

Sinking down carefully she cried out as she felt him bottom out inside of her. She raised up and started a slow but consistent rhythm.

Amaimon growled at the maddening pace and thrust up to meet her. Harry shuddered and bore down on him in a steady grind.

"Not too fast now, wait for Anuie."

Harry gasped and moaned, feeling Mephisto's feather light touches effortlessly push her forward, putting her face level with Amaimon's chest.

Mephisto carefully slid his fingers around where she and Amaimon were joined, testing her readiness. 

When he was certain she was as wet as possible and he would fit without causing harm he shifted and began to press forward. Harry and Amaimon both gasped as her resistance suddenly gave way allowing Mephisto to slide in just as Amaimon was pulling back.

"Fuck!" Amaimon growled crushing Harry to his chest as she gasped and shook at the sensation before he took control, bucking up into her.

Mephisto draped himself over her back, thrusting in counterpoint to his younger brother's surging movements. He felt the heat pooling low in his belly and groaned at the feeling of her slick walls grabbing and squeezing his cock from all sides. Every pass of Amaimon's bulbous head across his own was electric and he focused on grinding them together inside Harry's clenching pussy.

"Nnnngh." Amaimon moaned. "Imouto-chan feels so good Anuie!"

Harry gasped and nearly shrieked at the slight change in sensation.

"Yes, she does. Amaimon move your hands to her hips."

Amaimon obliged as Mephisto placed his left hand between Harry's shoulder blades and his right hand gently on her low back.

"Now tilt her hips forward towards you." Mephisto felt her angle change slightly and he shivered in anticipation. "Now hold on to her Amaimon."

Trusting that Amaimon had his end of things Mephisto pressed down firmly with both hands and was rewarded with a long drawn out shriek from Harry. Her muscles clamped down so tightly while she came that the sensation was almost physically painful.

"Anuie." Amaimon said from between clenched teeth.

"Ride it out and don't let up!" Mephisto coached as he slowly stroked in and out of Harry's grasping wetness.

Mephisto's persistence paid off as he felt the rhythmic contractions of her orgasm shift. Instead of a forceful crushing grip, her muscles began rippling and pulling at them as if her body was trying to consume them utterly.

"Mein gött." He moaned as he thrust as hard as he could against the sensations that were beginning to overwhelm him.

Harry shook and screamed as Amaimon kept her clit trapped against the root of his cock. 

With Mephisto fucking her hard, stroking Amaimon on every thrust, and Harry wailing and thrashing against his chest like she was trying to escape by buring herself in him, Amaimon felt his excitement hit a new high. 

"I'm going to....uuungh....Anuie!"

"If you shift right now Amaimon I swear I will kill you!" Mephisto panted with a crazed look in his eyes. 

"It's not that it's.....uuummmmmmm.....oh! Oh! She's coming again, ah, ah...." Amaimon shook and growled. "I want to bite her!"

"Bite me!" She cried out, half delirious with overstimulation. 

Amaimon surged forward and latched onto her shoulder with a desperate wordless cry. He worried her flesh with his teeth and thrilled at the taste of her hot blood filling his mouth.

"So good......so sweet....Anuie taste?" Amaimon panted brokenly my through red stained lips. 

Mephisto leaned forward to lap at the wound and found himself sucking at her flesh and Amaimon's mouth with equal abandon, both of them writhing and gasping with Harry crushed between them. Her screams of pleasure were drowned out by the rushing in his ears as he felt Amaimon spurting thick and hot along side him. 

Mephisto leaned back to resume his earlier pace as Amaimon fall back against the bed with a squeak.

"Unnnnnnngh it's so good....Anuie" Amaimon gasped "I'm going to come again....don't stop!"

Harry looked over her shoulder at Mephisto with blood stained cheeks and fevered eyes.

She whimpered and shook like a broken doll in the violent grip of another orgasm but still maintained eye contact with him. He felt her pressing against his mental shields and shuddering in anticipation he let her in fractionally. Instantly he was slammed with the sensation being intimately stretched wide open and fucked hard.

"Unnnn...Ich Komme! Ich Komme!" Mephisto cried out, exploding wetly inside Harry as Amaimon also shouted out his completion.

Harry shuddered and bucked, effectively trapped between a veritable 'rock' and a 'hard place'. She reflexively shredded the bedding with her fingers as she sunk her teeth into the skin of Amaimon's chest. Her final orgasm seemed to take up the last of her energy and collapsed, utterly spent.

Mephisto gently slid from her body, disregarding the accompanying rush of fluids as his and Amaimon's release was dislodged. Amaimon pulled her up on his chest slightly, kissing the top of her head before rolling her gently to the side. 

Mephisto collapsed bonelessly next Amaimon with a wheeze.

"I think she actually killed me." Mephisto moaned into the blankets.

Amaimon hummed sympathetically, his usual stoic mask already back in place. "It's been a long time since we've played like that, it was very nice."

Seeing an opening Mephisto changed the subject. "Speaking of nice, did you know that Harry-chan has a little sister?"

"Imouto has an Imouto!?" Amaimon's voice lilted slightly in surprise. "We have another Imouto!?"

Mephisto smiled. "If you like. She is very excited to see your garden. She grew up hearing stories about it and has always wanted to see it in person. I was wondering if it would be agreeable to you to make a family outing of it and spend the day playing."

"Are you sure that is what everyone wants to do? Most demons find plants boring." Amaimon said flatly as he picked at the shredded sheets.

"Of course! Amaimon, don't worry so much! You have to remember that humans find gardens beautiful and diverting. Your garden is the best and they will be awed; poor Yuki-chan was so overwhelmed when I brought him to meet you he could barely speak!"

Amaimon nodded. "I do remember that, at first I thought he was a little slow witted."

Mephisto laughed heartily. "He's actually quite sharp but for fun I abducted him and gave him no idea where were going. The look on his face was priceless."

"You are a wicked, wicked force of chaos." Harry murmured from somewhere behind Amaimon's pillow.

"What is your Imouto like Angharad-chan?" Amaimon asked, curiosity cutting through his usual blank faced stoicism.

"She's pale and soft, with light golden hair and green eyes. Her personality is cheerful and sweet, she always tries to find the positive side of a bad situation. She stays mostly to her garden and her familiar so her only close friend for a long time was Yuki-chan. But she takes being family very seriously and she knows about the royal flames." 

Harry paused trying to think of the best way to elucidate her next point without giving offence. "She may seem like a pretty flower, nice to look at but ultimately short lived and replaceable but that is a disguise, a type of defense. She is really very tough and won't tolerate anyone hurting her family."

Harry chuckled quietly. "Earlier today she slapped that skunk striped kid for sending Yuki into a panic attack. Before that she had the fortitude to create a blood bond of equal standing with me and is now the heir in apparent of the main branch house of Black which, is frankly astonishing. She is deeply powerful, when I was trying to get a feel for her magic I had to pull back, there was seemingly no limit; her powers are slightly dormant but definitely there."

Both Amaimon and Mephisto peered down at her in surprise.

"You are telling me that you used a blood rite to adopt Moriyama Shiemi into the house of Black!?" Mephisto asked tremulously.

"Well, yes." Harry frowned. "How else would she be able to access the properties and vaults?"

"And of course you are in fact the head of said house, as well as heir apparent to houses Potter, Slytherin, Peverell, and at this point I am beginning to suspect Gryffindor as well." Mephisto let out a short incredulous laugh. "We should consider an inheritance test, with your luck Harry-chan you may actually be the second coming of Emrys Merlin!"

Amaimon, who had been silent up to this point entered the discussion. "I am surprised this is news to you Anuie. Normally you are aware of all these details."

"Ah yes, but Yuki-chan wasn't terribly specific, he mearly said that Harry-chan had adopted Shiemi-chan as her sister with all rights and privileges...." Mephisto trailed off into shocked realization and then he groaned.

"Oh bugger me!" Harry said faintly. "I didn't specify the house!" She hissed.

"Does that mean the adoption failed?" Amaimon asked with a faint frown. 

"Quite the contrary! It means that poor sweet Shiemi-chan is now heir apparent to not one Ancient and most Noble house but four or more depending on what the goblins say." Mephisto still sounded a bit shocked. "You, Harry-chan, make the most terrifying pillow talk."

"Shut it!" Harry growled. "It wasn't entirely my fault, that particular ritual can't be scripted you know. My rationale for adopting her as a Black was threefold." 

Harry held up her hand and began counting off. 

"Firstly I am sitting on a massive fortune and Shiemi needs the financial support without feeling like she is being a burden. This way she will be able to help Rin and Yukio while still being able to survive without her mother and the Vatican. To be honest, she inadvertently gave me idea when she offered to smuggle out exorcism equipment if Yukio ever had to leave the order."

Folding down another finger she continued. "Andromeda and Nymphadora are the last main branch Blacks, by blood, aside from me, who are still living. Andromeda was disowned for fraternizing with a "mud blood" because the Blacks were a family that strongly supported blood purity measures."

"Fat lot of good that did them! Damn near the whole house, decimated within four generations. Andromeda's husband Ted is a lovely man, very sweet and patient. Andy herself is a bit of an old battle ax but she's fiercely loyal and protective of her family. Nymphadora "if you call me by my first name I will break your face" Tonks is one of the few people in the wizarding world that I still trust to do the right thing. They would welcome Shiemi with open arms and genuine enthusiasm."

Curling her last finger down into her palm. "And last but certainly not least, I have the power and the authority to elevate a magical person of no name and standing to the second highest rank of an Ancient and Noble house. The fact that house Black is nearly extinct because they almost to the last man, fought directly or indirectly against me is just a bonus."

"So I did it, because I could, and it's the dog's bullocks. A great big impossible to ignore go fuck yourself to every bigoted pureblood prick, still clinging onto their Wizengamot seat by virtue of their great granddaddy's achievements."

"I hope they all collectively shit their pants in terror when they find out, because they are going to sit and wonder. Then they will fret and ponder, forming alliances, trying to shore up the dyke for the upcoming storm. They are going to think they have me all figured out, and that is when I'm going to reach out and rip my revenge from their worthless hides."

Mephisto panted slightly. "As I said before, terrifying pillow talk but now I'm a bit turned on again." 

Amaimon grunted in agreement and pulled Mephisto closer.

"Remind me." Licking his way down Amaimon's chest Mephisto stopped at the bite mark Harry made. "That we need to come up with a strategy for breaking the news that you are still alive. Eventually someone is going to notice you are in Japan and we should be preemptive instead of reactionary."

Amaimon moaned as Mephisto placed a fresh bite mark over Harry's before moving on, his mouth now occupied with something other than conversation.

"I think we should start with the goblin bank.....ahh...they are my subjects and....hnnng..... I am sure I can persuade them to cooperate with whatever.....mmmmmm....nggg... insane plan you two come up with." Amaimon choked out between gasps, surprisingly articulate for someone who is being enthusiastically fellated.

"Wizard!" Harry exclaimed. "Amaimon do you want me to ride your face?" 

"Yes please....hnnng...mmmmmfph."

Amaimon's words were lost as Harry complied. Mephisto looked up from his self appointed task with amusement.

"As much as I am sure it would be a lovely way to go, please don't asphyxiate our Amaimon!" He admonished her teasingly.

"Yes Sensei." Harry said rolling her eyes.

"Hmmmm, do I sense a little defiance Imouto-chan. Do you want a spanking for being a bad girl?" Mephisto smiled widely getting into the game.

Harry gasped and rocked as Amaimon licked her with a long steady strokes before she mastered herself.

"I don't know Sensei, why don't we find out?" Harry said sweetly, her slightly breathless tone the only indication of how she was being affected by Amaimon's attentions.

Mephisto watched her for a few seconds with an inscrutable expression before a wicked grin split his face. "I believe this calls for a bath!" Mephisto swept his arms out widely. "Up, up, everyone up!"

"Anuie!" Amaimon whined. "Again with the complicated games.

"But my dear Otouto-chan, if you don't get clean you can't possibly wear your uniform!" Mephisto said convincingly.

"Fine!" Amaimon sighed. "But I want candy bubbles in the bath this time and no enchantments on the bath toys!" 

Amaimon leaned slightly towards Harry as they followed Mephisto. "You wouldn't believe what his did with the rubber duck last time. It was awful, then the stupid thing kept coming back for more!" he said under his breath just loud enough for Harry to hear.

Harry snickered quietly and shut the door behind them.


	15. Breakfast Of Champions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin makes delicious food while Yukio drops the T on the class.

The alarm on Yukio's cell phone was especially unwelcome and Rin had to fight the urge to crush the delicate device as he plucked it off the floor and passed it to Yukio.

"What time is it?" He asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"5:30." Yukio said yawning.

"Why!?" Rin whined.

"Nii-san you said you wanted to do an early breakfast remember?" Yukio sighed. "I agree that it unpleasant but we do have cram school today and we need to talk to everyone beforehand."

Rin grumbled slightly but got up and began pulling out a clean True Cross uniform.

Yukio rolled over and shook Shiemi gently. She sat up blinking and rubbing her eyes, her hair standing up like a haystack.

"Good morning." She said around a jaw cracking yawn. "Do you mind if I use your shower?"

Rin looked up from where he was buttoning his pants. "Um yeah sure. Do you need some shampoo and stuff?"

"No. I just want to rinse off so I don't feel so sleepy." She scooted across the bed and stripped off Rin's t-shirt. "Can I borrow a towel?"

Yukio blinked as she covered her breasts with her yukata. "Um, what?" he stammered out.

Rin just laughed. "Yeah Shiemi, that's fine. Sorry about Yukio, he saw your boobs and and forgot how to function."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She apologized looking concerned.

Yukio blushed. "You didn't offend me Shiemi-chan, I'm sorry for getting distracted!"

She smiled brightly at Yukio's apology while Rin handed her a towel.

"Thank you both!" Shiemi smiled. "I'm going to call Nii-chan when I get out of the shower and see who else I can bring over just in case."

"But don't worry too much! I think Kamiki-san was a lot like you growing up Yukio, I am pretty sure she and her familiars are relatives, and Paku-sun is her only friend. She is a little scared to loose Paku-sun to other friends. Suguro-kun and Miwa-kun are still confused and hurt by what Shima-sama did and will be upset at first but I think they will realize we are all on the same side. Takada-kun already knows if he is a vassal of Sir Pheles so he can help me keep everything under control."

Shiemi's bright smile faltered slightly. "Personally, and this is just my intuition, I think Shima-san already knew about the blue flames and Satan. That's the only thing that makes sense and explains his behavior."

Yukio nodded his head solemnly. "That is a possibility. If his familiar was high ranking enough he may have learned about it that way but then why hold back, why didn't he blow our cover on day one. I have a feeling he was here for some other reason and that is what worries me the most."

Rin snorted. "Whatever, it's not like we can do anything about him right now." Rin slung his sword over his shoulder. "I'm going to head down and make food. See you guys in a bit!"

"Oh! I have to hurry now." Shiemi gave Yukio a quick peck on the cheek and rushed out the door.

Yukio sat on the edge of the bed frozen for just a second before he sighed heavily and started pulling out the under things for his exorcist's uniform. Stopping momentarily while pulling out his dress shoes, he stared absently at his high top training boots.

Just no. He wasn't going into this as a teacher or a mentor. He was just another kid getting his ass kicked by fate. If he was going to appeal to the class then there was no sense in putting on the barrier of his exorcism uniform.Today he was going to pretend to be normal kid with a fucked up past instead of the conveniently self destructive weapon they expected him to be.

It only took him a few minuted to put together his True Cross Academy uniform but just to be safe he rigged his back up shoulder holster and added extra clips with blessed rounds of standard ammo. Not strong enough for the heavy hitters, but with enough of a punch to take down a trainer and familiar if need be.

He closed his eyes for a moment and fantasized about dropping teaching all together but it gave him a much needed revenue stream and some privileges he couldn't do without. He wasn't kidding himself, despite his skill and experience, he knew the only reason he was here and not on some shit hole guard rotation is because they expected him to keep Rin on a short leash.

He laughed a little at the futility of that directive as he shrugged on his school blazer. He methodically checked his lines to make sure he could still draw smoothly before he grabbed his key ring and cell phone, shutting the door on his way out.

He headed down to the cafeteria first.

"Nii-san, has Shiemi already been down?"

"Yeah. She waved at me a few minutes ago." Rin had a massive round iron pan set up on a stand with a small burner underneath. He was partiality blocking the entry way to the kitchen, which would cause a bottleneck, slowing down any potential pursuers if they needed to use a key on the pantry door to retreat.

"Smart set up Nii-san, I want Shiemi down here helping you with ingredients or something, basically any excuse for her to be on your side of the counter before I check on everyone else."

"That's fine Yuki, just send her to me."

Yukio started to leave but then he hesitated. "Nii-chan, if this gets bad and we have to leave, grab the Kouma sword and Shiemi, I don't care what she says, she's not going to able to run in her geta. The plan is to use the key to Anuie's place on the pantry door and get out. I'm carrying two pistols so I can cover the retreat, do not engage."

Rin returned Yukio's serious expression and nodded his head. "Yes Sensei."

Yukio felt something wound up tightly inside of him uncoil slightly. "Thank you Nii-san, I will be back in a few minutes."

Yukio walked across the cafeteria mapping out blind spots and cover in his head. He grimaced, the wide open room was a tactical nightmare but as long as he was on the kitchen side of the counter he would be able to turn it to his advantage.

At the end of the hall he knocked lightly on Shiemi's door. She answered the door fully dressed in a pale green and pink kimono. Because her hair was still damp she had it caught back either side with cute butterfly clips. Overall Yukio thought she looked adorable and told her so.

Shiemi blushed lightly. "Thank you for the compliment Yuki-chan."

"Are you ready? Rin says he needs some help in kitchen."

"Yes, but I want you to meet the new friend that Nii-chan brought over." The larval greenman on Shiemi's shoulder seemed to puff up with pride. Shiemi opened the door wider and Yukio found himself staring at a rather pampered looking hobgoblin.

The hobgoblin was as round as it was tall with a mouth that took up nearly the entirety of it's head, while it's tongue took up nearly the entirety of it's mouth.

It was wearing a leather walking harness with very familiar skull and cross bone button details.

"I think, that this may belong to Amaimon." As soon as Yukio said 'Amaimon' the stout creature wiggled it's body excitedly and made a whistling sound like a boulder being dropped from a great hight.

Yukio quickly stepped through into the room closing the door behind him. "You can understand it?" He asked quietly.

"Well yes, I mean, with Nii-chan here it's much clearer than it was before but I have always been able to understand them and when they were too different or too strange for me to make out more than a few words the plants would help to translate." Shiemi said with a blush.

"So that day I gave the test when you used your own names for the plants, where those the names the plants gave you themselves?" Yukio asked in astonishment.

Shiemi blushed harder and nodded yes.

"So the reason I can't understand is because Harry isn't here and my demon blood isn't active enough without her." Yukio said in slight disappointment.

"You might be able to hear if you can summon a little of your flames." Shiemi said carefully. "You may be blocking the ability unconsciously because you tried to ignore them for so long."

Yukio frowned thoughtfully and before he could second guess himself much he focused on loosening the tightness in his chest. Imagining it was a bandage, he pulled and sighed with relief as a warm blue rushed out to fill his body.

Opening his eyes he looked down at the excited hobgoblin. "Thank you for coming to help, we will return you to Amaimon as soon as we are able."

"My prince" it gurgled out "I am Behemoth and I am happy to represent my King Amaimon's interest in your continued well being. The Earth child is quite persuasive."

"Thank you again Behemoth." Yukio said softly, rubbing the open spot between the hobgoblin's wide spaced eyes as it pressed happily into his pant leg.

"You should go Shiemi, Rin is waiting for you."

"Ok Yuki. Come, follow me Behemoth, let's see what Rin is making for breakfast shall we!" Shiemi opened the door and slipped into the hallway, like a mother duck leading a very unfortunate looking duckling.

Yukio sat on the empty sleeping platform in the room and waited quietly for a few minutes to give her a head start.

He still felt the warm glow in his chest and wondered how he had gone for so long without it. It was like taking a breath of fresh air after being crammed into a crowded train all day. It was almost intoxicating how good it felt. 

In the past he would have panicked and backpedaled, trying desperately to be in control and shut the feeling down. But all he could manage now was a vague sort of curiosity about the phenomena. How strange I am becoming he thought.

Standing, Yukio closed the door to Shiemi's borrowed room and began systematically going down the hallway knocking on doors.

Kamiki-san and Paku-san were putting the finishing touches on their hair and makeup, more Paku-san than Kamiki-san but she gave Yukio a look that promised bodily harm if he tried to hurry Paku-san so he bowed out as quickly as possible.

Suguro-kun and Miwa-kun were dressed and ready, they both said they weren't very hungry but when they heard Rin was cooking something special they perked up considerably.

Takada-kun was asleep again but his puppet gave Yukio an elaborate bow, thanked him for the pizza and told him to scram. "I work for Kings sonny boy, ain't no Prince gonna sweat me!"

Yukio just shrugged at the eccentricities of the possessed toy and backed out of the room shutting the door behind him.

He stepped into an empty room and gave himself a few more minutes to feel calm and in control. By the time he made his way to the cafeteria everyone was there, eating happily and looking relaxed.

"Sensei! Where is Harry-san?" Konekomaru chirped around a bite of his jianbing.

"It's still just Yukio today Miwa-kun. Harry-chan is still with the headmaster but she should be joining us later today." Yukio walked around the counter passing by Shiemi who was eating at the small prep table and occasionally dropping bites down to behemoth. He moved on to where Rin was busy spreading a raw egg on the thin dough that was already bubbling away on the griddle. "Now you think?"

Rin shrugged. "There is really no good time for this sort of thing."

Yukio nodded and walking around Shiemi again he took up a casual looking pose leaning on the wall just opposite of the counter top.

Yukio adjusted his glasses with a sigh. "Miwa-kun do you remember what we were talking about last night?"

"Yes Sensei, oh, I mean Okumura-kun, before or after Shima-kun left?" Konekamaru asked nervously.

"Before he left, and please don't worry, I'm not upset about it but I do need to tell you all something important and I need you to try to listen." Yukio said plainly.

"Kamiki-san, Paku-san what do you know?" Yukio asked as he accepted a plate from Rin.

Izumo spoke for the both of them. "Moriyama-san told us some of it and Okumura-kun filled in the rest last night while you were talking to the headmaster."

"Mmmmmm good." Yukio hummed as he took a bite of the rolled up savory thin pancake, green onions and egg with just enough chili paste to give it a little kick.

"Is there fried wonton in this Nii-san?"

"Its a sort of fried dough stick made out of a similar dough to wonton dough." Rin said distractedly as he quickly flattened out a new round of pancake dough on the griddle.

"Well whatever it is Nii-san this is truly excellent!" Yukio enthused.

Returning to the serious subject at hand he coughed slightly and gathered his thoughts.

"I haven't known you all very long or very well. Being a teacher often gets in the way of being a friend which is why I took yesterday and today off as your teacher. However something has come up and even though you may ultimately hate me for it I consider you all friends enough for to want to inform you of a situation that is coming to a head and may pose a danger to you all."

Yukio took another bite of his jianbing and contemplated his next words. "The headmaster informed me late last night that the Vatican will be sending an inspection team here soon and they will be dispatching the current Paladin and his partner the Torturer."

Ryuji sucked in a shocked breath and choked on a bit of egg "Angel and Lightning, here? Why?" He croaked out as he coughed.

Yukio gestured a little with his jianbing "I don't know for certain but my best guess is that they are going to try to find a reason to execute Nii-san and myself."

The room exploded into chaos.

"What!?" "No!" "Why?!"

Overriding the shocked gasps and cries of dismay Ryuji's vice cut like a knife. "What. Did. You. Do?!" He said directly to Rin.

Rin huffed. "Why does everyone always assume I'm the bad guy?! I haven't done anything except for exist."

"And make awesome jianbing!" Shiemi spoke up cheerfully from where she was being slobbered on by Behemoth.

"Yes." Rin blushed."What she said."

"It's true, the problem has to do with the circumstances of our birth not anything either of us have done directly. Our father, Fujimoto Shiro, was good friends with our mother before she got pregnant. He was handed down an order to execute her and her unborn child but he couldn't bring himself to do it."

Yukio shuddered slightly. "He tried to help her go into hiding but she went into labor earlier than expected because she was having twins, and she died shortly after we were born. He decided to report that she had died in childbirth and the baby was still born."

Yukio continued in a subdued tone. "No one questioned him when he adopted twin boys and announced he was taking a sabbatical from active duty. It was a chaotic time for the Vatican, Satan's rampage killed most of the high ranking religious leaders and exorcists, people were still shocked and reeling in the resulting power vacuum."

Yukio sighed and set his plate with the rest of his uneaten jiabing down on the counter.

"He raised us and loved us as his own blood, we owe Tou-san Fujimoto everything. All that we are is because of him. As it was, I didn't learn the truth about our birth father until about a year ago but I ignored it anyway thinking I was human and it didn't matter. Rin only just found out when our Tou-san died trying to stop our birth father from taking Rin into Gehenna."

Keonekomaru spoke up hopefully. "So Shiemi was right, that demon that chased Okumura-kun down was really determined to get to him. That was your birth father?"

Both Rin and Yukio made disgusted faces at the thought of being the offspring of Asteroth.

Rin hiccuped slightly, queasy with nerves. "I hate to say it....as gross as that would be I wish that was the case. Yuki, I think imma throw up."

Yukio was there in an instant turning off the burner under the griddle and moving Rin to a chair.

He helped Rin lean forward and accepted a deep saucepan and a cold wet towel from Shiemi who moved almost as fast as he did.

He placed the towel around the back of Rin's neck and rubbed little circles on his back. "Focus on the cold and try to breathe slowly Nii-san."

Rin grunted his understanding and tried to tell his stomach to quit flipping up into his chest, it was excruciatingly painful.

Ryuji sat with a dark look on his face, seemingly coming to a decision he stood and walked slowly around the counter until he could see Rin sitting with Yukio crouched worriedly beside him. As he approached Shiemi stepped into his line of sight with a determined look on her face, a snarling hobgoblin at her feet and her baby greenman in her hair despite the fact that it had suddenly sprouted long poisonous looking thorns.

"Woah! I come in peace!" He held out his hands in a non threatening gesture and waited for Shiemi to back down or for Yukio to step in.

He was surprized to hear Rin speak up. "Just let him through. You can shoot him full of holes or tear him to pieces later. Give him a chance first."

Ryuji caught a glimpse of Okumura Sensei holstering his pistols and realized that Moriyama-san was protecting more than just Rin's life. He didn't doubt Sensei's aim, especially in such close quarters, and he doubted the rounds were anything as benign as holy water.

"I just have a few questions." Ryuji said carefully.

When Rin acknowledged him by nodding his head he continued. "When is your birthday, how old are you and did you really mean what you said about wanting to kill Satan?"

Yukio began to speak but Rin placed a hand on his arm and stood heavily facing Ryuji squarely.

Looking Ryuji in the eyes he answered. "We were born December 27th but we always celebrated our birthday on December 24th because our Monastery was a Christian congregation and we didn't have enough money to throw a party right after the Christmas celebration. Yukio and I try to do something nice, just the two of us on the 27th but it doesn't always work out with his crazy schedule. We are 15, going to be 16 this Winter. Yes, I would love nothing more than to see that monster eradicated." He said passionately.

"I don't know how mom got involved with him but he as good as killed her himself, if it wasn't for her connection with him she would have been able to give birth in a hospital and she would have survived. And he..."

Rin stopped for a moment to get his emotions under control. "He possessed Tou-san and....laughed in my face, he thought it was hysterically funny that I cried and was even more amused that I tried to stop him." Rin bit out angrily.

"Tou-san told me not to unseal the sword, that it would make me lose my human body, but I couldn't stand there and not do something while that fucker used my Tou-san to open the Gehenna Gate. I didn't even care if he got me I just wanted him to stop hurting Tou-san." Rin was no longer staring at Ryuji so much as he was looking through him. 

"But I hesitated, I was scared of becoming a demon for real. That's when Tou-san fought back; he stabbed himself in the heart, said he wouldn't let Satan take me because I was his son, not Satan's, and fell into the gate." Rin made a low broken sound.

"I thought if I got him out and got him help fast enough he would make it. The gate was pulling us through and the only thing I could do was draw the sword. I exorcised the gate and was able to keep hold of Tou-san but I was too late, he was already dead." 

"The Vatican wants to execute me because I can wield blue flames, but they don't understand; they are my flames, not Satan's. They answer to me even if I inherited the ability from him." Rin sniffed slightly.

"The day of Tou-san's funeral they sent a team of exorcists to kill me." 

Rin snorted. "They were nice enough to wait until after the eulogy at the gave side at least. But instead of letting them kill me I convinced Sir Pheles to give me a chance to become an exorcist. He has been working hard to sell the Vatican on the idea that I am better alive as an asset than dead, but there is strong opposition and his own demonic heritage makes it hard for them to trust his word. So far I have been walking a razor's edge but this weekend we found out something that will definitely tip them over into a frenzy."

"I can make the flames too." Yukio stepped up behind Rin, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "The Vatican doesn't know yet but I doubt that we will be able to keep it a secret. Llewellyn Light is notorious for figuring these things out and even though Aurther Angel isn't know for being the brightest bulb in the box he is a very powerful knight and without Harry-chan he could easily kill us both." 

Seeing confusion on the faces of the Paiges he hastened to explain. 

"Look, no offense intended but you all are in what is called "the cave of ignorance". You are just too low ranking to have to deal with any of the order's political bullshit. Even with Harry-chan here there is the possibility we could get killed. Even though I know she would do whatever it takes to protect us, I probably won't let her because I really don't want the order to lose Angel. He's a bit of a prick but he is also a stickler for the rules and just about as incorruptible as a human can get. Without him to keep the Grigori in check I'm afraid they may decide to launch a crusade." 

He continued in a somber tone. "I like living, I will protect Nii-san with the least breath in my body but I cannot condone any action that leads to the activation of the order's Armageddon protocols and active warfare against the biological sons of Satan, no matter how reluctant we are, could potentially set off that series of events if Angel isn't there to stop it."

"Armageddon protocols?" Rin said in a horrified voice.

Yukio nodded. "Tou-san was the Paladin of the order till the day he died. It means more than just being the strongest exorcist; the Paladin acts as the conscience of the order, a moderating force that, in theory, allows the order to accomplish more good than bad. Of course that doesn't always work out, it wasn't very long ago that the people we classify now as tamers were routinely burned at the stake for consorting with the forces of Satan."

Yukio shook his head. "While Nii-san used to break into Tou-san's office to sneak a peek at his kinky manga collection." 

"Hey! Rude!" Rin cried out.

Yukio continued seriously. "I broke in regularly to read his official correspondence."

"Isn't that stuff all encrypted?!" Konekamaru said from the other side of the counter.

Yukio smiled thinly. "It took me the better part of an afternoon when I was seven to break the cipher and from what I can tell they have been using the same encryption for a couple hundred years now....come to think of it Sir Pheles probably has something to do with that."

"Figures. The clown is just nosy enough to want to read everything, just secretive enough to want it coded and just lazy enough to keep the code the same for a few centuries, after all, what's a couple hundred years to the likes of him."

"Nii-san, you should be more respectful!" Yukio admonished.

"Nah, I'm not going to go being any different towards him. He said he appreciates my refreshing attitude, remember!" 

Yukio groaned. "That's right after he called you stupid and naive Nii-san."

"Are you sure? Because I remember him saying that I was delightful. Are we even talking about the same conversation?" Rin pouted.

Yukio sighed. "Yes Nii-san, you should pay better attention when your elders talk."

Ryuji started snickering. "I can't believe that you guys are the literal sons of Satan! You are both total dorks, and while I don't doubt Sensei here could kill me dead before I could blink I am actually more afraid of what might happen hanging around you Rin-kun because your brother is right, you are about as observant as a toadstool."

"Hey! Why is this all of a sudden gang up on Rin time. Be nice to me dammit! I woke up at 5:30 to make you breakfast you ingrates!" 

Konekomaru shifted nervously. "Umm I hate to say it but it's getting late and we would be getting ready to leave for class."

Looking directly a Yukio he continued. "Sensei, what do you want us to do about....what we discussed?"

Yukio shrugged. "Nothing really Miwa-kun, stay safe, find cover if the worst happens. Pretend like you don't know anything and stay under the radar. My only request is that you try to become exorcists even if you don't stay in the order in the long run. The education isn't perfect but it is fairly broad for being such a specialized subject and you never know when your knowledge will save a life."

Konekomaru nodded seriously, thinking hard as he turned to help Ryuji clear their plates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Wuuuut!? You da sons of Satan? ERMAHGRD!! WTF!?! LOLOLOLOL!!!! How dat even wrk? UR MoM a fReAk tho, for real!
> 
>  
> 
> STFU SHIMA! U NOT EVEN HERE!!!~
> 
>  
> 
> ~SMH yeah that's why TXT
> 
>  
> 
> HOW!?!?~
> 
>  
> 
> ~WUT?
> 
>  
> 
> HOW U KNOW?~
> 
>  
> 
> ~easy  
> ~PFM
> 
>  
> 
> DA FUCK THAT?!~
> 
>  
> 
> ~Pure  
> ~Fucking  
> ~Magic
> 
>  
> 
> FU !!!!!!!!!!~
> 
>  
> 
> ~No, grow boobs first!
> 
>  
> 
> Shima-kun, this is Okumura Sensei~  
> Disregard Rin~  
> He is being ridiculous~  
> When RU coming bk?~
> 
>  
> 
> ~why?
> 
>  
> 
> No reason~
> 
>  
> 
> YUKIO IS LYING! HE'S GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!~
> 
>  
> 
> ~ •••
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry about that, he's joking, lol~  
> So when you be bk?~
> 
>  
> 
> ~ T_T
> 
>  
> 
> ?~
> 
>  
> 
> ~ha ha ha NO!  
> ~ •••  
> ~ •••  
> ~ FML!


	16. The Principle of Scientific Parsimony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izumo spills her guts in the non literal sense, Yukio speculates, Rin's offhand comment creates chaos and Ryuji makes an important decision with broad ramifications.

"Boys, please pass Rin-chan any plates with left over food, Behemoth is still a little hungry." Shiemi called out casually as she walked over to where Izumo was trying to calm her terrified friend.

"This is what I'm talking about! If you quit with me then we can get out of the way of all this insanity! I am scared for you Izumo-chan, I don't want you to be hurt!" Paku spoke with quiet intensity.

Catching the tail end of the conversation Shiemi decided to simply jump in. 

"We can talk to Sir Pheles Kamiki-san and see if he can do something to keep you both safe from any potential fallout, maybe transfer you to another school?" Sheimi suggested.

Izumo shook her head. "It's not that simple. My little sister.....they took her..... I need to become an exorcist so I can get her back but...."

Shiemi sat down next to Izumo. "I understand Kamiki-san. I haven't had a Nee-san for very long but I know that if anyone took me from her she would do everything in her power to get me back. Sisterhood is a strong bond and I believe you can get her back but Paku-san is right; you can't save her if you throw yourself to the wolves."

Yukio had been listening quietly but he waited until the Kyoto boys had left before approaching the girls' table.

"Who has your Imouto Kamiki-san?" He asked as he sat opposite her.

"They call themselves the Bright Corporation. They took over the town near our shrine and they have been useing the townsfolk in bizarre medical experiments. They wanted to experiment on my Imouto but I made a deal with them; if I become a second class tamer then Dr. Gedouin said they would let my Imouto go. They have my Okaasan too but....she's a monster now....my Imouto is really all the family I have left." Izumo said bitterly. 

Yukio crossed his arms and leaned forward intently. "Do you think Shima-san was with this group?"

Izumo shook her head. "I don't know. He never said anything that made me think he was, but he kept wanting me to talk, alone, with him." She shuddered violently.

"But then, the one time I was accidentally alone with him, he scared me half to death. He has these creepy black flames that feel like they pull the strength from your body. Honestly Noriko-chan and I were done with the bath pretty early in the afternoon yesterday but I was just trying to avoid him. I think he broke out through the room we are staying in because he was hoping to have a chance to force me to go with him."

Yukio frowned. "Kamiki-san this is a potentially dangerous situation. I think you should hold off going to class until we have a chance to talk to Sir Pheles. This building is safe but the rest of the campus isn't warded against Shima-san because Sir Pheles is hoping he will come back at some point."

Izumo nodded. "Can Noriko-chan stay too?" She asked softly.

Yukio pushed his glasses up. "Actually, I prefer that you don't stay here alone, so yes. I can cover for you by saying you aren't feeling well. I will report your symptoms as a mild cold and say I suggested you stay in bed for the day with Paku-san to help you. I will have to lock you in the building while we are gone but if you absolutely must get out, if there is a real emergency, the fire escape is accessible and it will let you into a safe room."

"Thank you Sensei." Noriko bowed and Yukio fractionally returned the gesture.

Rin came up behind Yukio and leaned obnoxiously over his head. "Yukio could loan you his romance mangas so you guys don't get too bored."

"Nii-san!" Yukio protested, but taking in the hopeful looks on the two girls faces he sighed. "Fine, but don't damage them!" He said warningly.

Rin led the girls upstairs while Yukio and Shiemi sat and waited to leave.

"That wasn't terrible?" Yukio's statement came out like a question.

"No. It went very well." Shiemi said simply. "No one got hurt and they were all sympathetic. You and Rin-chan did the honorable thing."

Yukio absently scratched Behemoth's head while the hobgoblin grinned with an obscene amount of razor sharp teeth showing in it's cavernous maw.

Rin came down the stairs with both arms piled high with books, Izumo and Noriko following with smaller stacks. They turned and passed Konekomaru and Ryuji in the hall.

"Where are Okumura-kun, Kamiki-san and Paku-san going with all those books?" Konekomaru asked curiously.

"Kamiki-san is worried that she will be targeted by Shima-san again if she leaves the safety of the wards. I am letting her and Paku-san stay here today until we have a chance to talk to the headmaster about it. I am letting them borrow some books so they don't get bored." Yukio said as he absently adjusted his glasses.

"What do you mean about Shima? I know he was bugging Kamiki-san yesterday but what you are saying sounds serious." Ryuji sat down next to Shiemi and leaned over the table towards Yukio. "Anything you can tell me about Shima, I need to know."

Yukio nodded. "Kamiki-san believes that Shima-san was either trying to coerce her into leaving with him or was prepared to outright abduct her."

Konekomaru fidgeted next to Ryuji before sitting down. "Why would he do such a thing?"

Yukio shook his head. "She isn't sure if Shima-san is directly involved but she says that there is a organization holding her sister and her mother captive. She wants to get her sister back but she says that her mother is a monster. Considering that Kamiki-san doesn't have very strong demon traits it seems likely to me that her mother is possessed as opposed to being a full or even half demon. If that is the case what kind of organization would keep a little girl and a possessed woman prisoner?"

"Not a good one, that's for sure!" Ryuji scrubbed his hair with both hands in exasperation. "Dammit Renzo, what the hell are you mixed up in!?"

Konekomaru looked worried. "It's obvious that Shima-san knew something about your connection with Satan yesterday, he practically dared us to confront you and Okumura-kun after Shiemi-san talked to us. He seemed really angry that we might feel sympathy for you."

Shiemi nodded. "It's true. He lost his temper and told them off."

Yukio frowned. "That may have something to do with his familiar. From what Kamiki-san told me he can manifest black flames that make a person feel weak and lethargic but he was reluctant to do so when around groups which is why he kept trying to get her alone. That tells me he doesn't have very good control which is worrisome."

Yukio took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes briefly before putting them back on. "Also, I wasn't paying close attention when Harry-chan and Sir Pheles were examining the ward damage but I did overhear Sir Pheles agree that Shima-san's familiar would have to be very high ranking and powerful in the fire kingdom to be able to burn through his wards. Put that together with the black flames and it seems likely that his familiar would have known about myself and Rin."

"What do you mean by that?" Ryuji slapped his hand down. "Are you telling me that Renzo knew the whole time that you guys were the sons of Satan and didn't say a damn thing!"

Yukio held up his hands placatingly. "I can't say for sure, I only know that demons of a certain level in the Gehennan hierarchy seem to know about there being a human born son of Satan. The demon that originally chased Nii-san down, the one that was possessing my old bully, was kin of Asteroth the King of Rot. He figured out who Nii-san was because Nii-san manifested his flames in self defense and he tried to drag him to Gehenna. They have overlooked me in the past because everyone assumed I was totally human but I am sure it's just a matter of time before they find out about the both of us."

"So wait, Asteroth is a demon king, that means he's also a son of Satan, wouldn't that make him your older brother?!" Konekomaru said in shock.

Yukio shuddered in disgust. "Unfortunately yes, but fortunately Gehennen social structures are a bit different from what you typically see with humans on Assaiah. Being related by birth is not as important as oaths and alliances. A demon may extend a bit of extra courtesy to a bloodline relative but the kind of inborn desire to protect and nurture those bonds is more of a human biological trait leftover from their earliest iteration as cooperative group gatherers."

"So if that's the case then who are you allied with." Ryuji asked leaning back with his arms crossed.

"Mephisto is our legal guardian and our other Oniisan Amaimon is a pretty cool guy." Rin said as he walked up to the group.

"Nii-san!"

"What?!" Rin looked around at the various looks of shock. "Oh, did I say something wrong?"

Ryuji placed both of his trembling hands flat on the table top. "Are you telling me that Sir Mephisto Pheles, the Director the Tokyo branch of the True Cross, an organization dedicated to killing demons, is a fucking DEMON KING!?"

Rin squeaked. "Ummmmm....no?"

A vein in Ryuji's forehead pulsed noticeably. "Do you mean no he isn't, or no you aren't telling me?"

"Um, no.....I'm not telling you?" Rin said with a cringe.

"WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?!" Ryuji exploded.

Rin laughed weakly. "I ask myself that every single day. I mean, if you want to get technical, Yukio and I are the Crown Princes, we out rank pretty much everyone in Gehenna, even our brothers who are sub-kings, just because of our flames. But it really doesn't matter because Assiah is our home."

"I know it seems strange for a demon king to want to fight against his own kind but if you hadn't noticed Mephisto is a bit of a shit, even when he likes someone, and this is his home too." Rin laughed darkly. "He gets very bent out of shape when lots of humans die. You wouldn't believe what he did to punish those three assholes who created the bubonic plague!"

"Nii-san! Enough!" Yukio slapped his hand down on the table harshly. "That is not your story to tell!"

"I'm done, I'm done!" Rin held up his hands and leaned away from his fuming brother.

"This is just too much." Konekomaru buried his head in his arms. "Wake me up when everything makes sense again ok?"

"Oh no! Don't be upset!" Shiemi said soothingly. "Nothing really has changed except now you know a little bit more and that means you can make better decisions." 

Ryuji mumbled something under his breath that could have been a prayer or a curse. 

"All right." He said finally. "I trust you two. You have both been pretty damn honest all things considered. So I need one more straight answer from the both of you. Hell, you can even call it a favor. I Suguro Ryuji owe one favor to be determined in the future to either Okumura Rin or Okumura Yukio if they individually or collectively answer my question. To the best of your knowledge can we trust Mephisto Pheles?"

Yukio sighed. "I Okumura Yukio acknowledge the exchange of a favor for a favor and ask for clarification on the subject of your question. Who do you refer to when you say we?"

Ryuji looked confused. "We, us...the people sitting at this table......"

"You are throwing your lot in with me and Nii-san? Are you sure?" Yukio said with surprise.

"Well yeah." Ryuji snorted. "Us ambitious idiots gotta stick together, how else are we gonna take down the god of Gehenna?"

"Besides, there is some serious shit going down and Moriyama-san is pretty much the most pure hearted person I have ever met; if she's on your side then I know you aren't bullshitting me because she would call you out on it immediately. If I can't trust her I can't trust my own mother, the fact that she is in this a deep as you both are says something."

Yukio shook his head like he couldn't believe his ears. 

"I'm not going to give you some kind of blanket statement that Anuie can be trusted because I refuse to make myself into a liar on his behalf."

"Instead I will try to explain his proclivities as best I can; he will try to keep deaths to a minimum on both sides because he dislikes extinction level events because he feels like they are a waste of resources. He believes that some of the more civilized Gehennens can coexist with Assaians just fine, but he also concedes that there are probably as many undesirable demons in Gehenna as there are undesirable humans in Assiah and for that reason he believes the two worlds should remain separate." 

"He will do everything in his power to keep this world intact but he doesn't really believe in good and evil, only choices and consequences. He is an absolute hedonist who enjoys head games so be prepared for any level of obnoxiousness from him as he very rarely restrains himself. His only reason for overthrowing Satan is so he can enjoy himself without his father breathing down his neck, threatening to break his favorite toy." Here Yukio paused and grimaced.

"That may seem a bit flippant or childish to you but he is literally older than you can fathom and he has a very peculiar perspective on life that is a bit hard to understand. He likes myself and Rin enough to consider us family, and to make an oath bond....but I also manipulated him into it, but if he really didn't want to I couldn't have made him, so I think he really wanted to but his pride wouldn't let him act unless I showed a certain level of aptitude at negotiation.....if that makes any sense?"

"Essentially I think he really does care on a deeper level, but I'm not going to pin my hopes on that. He was very clear about his conflicting oaths and bonds. He is both a high ranking exorcist and a high ranking demon, he is playing a very dangerous game and there may be times where we will seemingly be at odds. But there is a deeper game, according to him under oath it will be to our benefit, mine and Rin's in the end. All Rin and I want is to be able to live our lives in peace, so the end goal can't be all that bad or it would violate our oath." 

Rin chimed in. "So basically you can trust him to be a self serving bastard who will put his own wants and desires ahead of anything else. It just happens that all he wants and desires is to be left alone to enjoy the lifestyle of a rich weirdo here in Assiah, so anything that threatens the stability of Assiah pisses him off."

"Ergo, his side is aligned with ours." Yukio finished.

Ryuji nodded. "I can work with that. How do I get him to consider discussing an alliance between us."

Rin and Yukio exchanged glances.

"Harry-chan?" Rin asked.

"Harry-chan." Yukio answered.

"Yes!" Shiemi clapped her hands once enthusiastically. "Nee-san is definitely the one to talk to first!"

Yukio clarified. "Our strategy right now is to create a strong coalition with a decentralized leadership who's activities are tangential to the established powers."

"So clandestine guerilla warfare?" Konekomaru's expression was one of complete focus. "Considering that you are at a disadvantage numbers wise and can't afford to make any openly aggressive moves that seems like a good long term strategy. What are your short term goals?"

Rin and Yukio exchanged glances.

"I'm not going to talk about Harry-chan in any great depth while she isn't here to speak for herself." Yukio said firmly. "But what I can say is that she is very powerful physically, magically and politically. If the worst happens she can defend us or we can disappear, but what we really need to do is convince the Vatican that we are on the same side."

"The enemy of my enemy is my ally." Konekomaru said decisively.

"Yeah exactly!" Rin said brightly.

"HONEY I'M HOME!" Harry sang out as she came through the door. "I brought company, I hope everyone is decent!"

The Paiges collectively gaped as she walked into the cafeteria looking like a student.

Her usually unruly hair had been tamed into smooth rolling waves. She was wearing a short sleeve blouse with a black and red striped tie over a pale yellow sweater vest with a subtle pink stripe around the collar. Her matching pink skirt was much longer than the regular issue, showing a teasing stripe of flesh before her black knee high socks started. She wore heavy soled, single strap Mary Janes in a fetching bright red leather that made the color in her tie pop.

"Ah! Nee-san!" Shiemi squealed as she jumped up and ran forward. "You look so cute!!"

Harry caught her in a hug. "You look cute too Shiemi-chan! Your clips are adorable and that is a beautiful kimono!"

Shiemi blushed and beamed like a ray of sunshine. "Thank you!" 

As Shiemi pulled back from Harry's hug she noticed a tall, serious looking young man standing just inside the shadowed entry way, indecision apparent in his posture.

"Hello! Please come in!" She said sweetly and as he came into the light she observed, with his green hair, pointed ears and long claw like nails, that he wasn't human in the slightest. 

"You must be Amaimon-san!"

Just then a green blur shot out from under the table and attempted to take out his knee caps. In a show of abnormal strength and agility, he casually grabbed the gibbering little demon and pulled it into a crushing hug.

"I am glad Behemoth found you." Amaimon said as he tucked the hobgoblin under one arm. 

He held out his right hand expectantly.

Harry nudged Shiemi forward. Shiemi placed her right hand in his and he solemnly bowed forward. "Amaimon, Demon King of the Earth, Lord of the Under Dark."

Shiemi swallowed her nervousness and called on the memory of her ritual adoption. "Moriyama Shiemi, daughter of Gaia and blood sister to Lady Angharad Lilith Potter-Black."

Amaimon kissed her hand before letting go. "Well met my lady, I have heard that you have a lovely garden."

Shiemi blushed. "I'm sure it's nowhere near as beautiful as yours but I do my best." 

"True." He said simply. "But I would like to see it just the same." he casually reached into his pocket and produced a sucker. He popped it into his mouth after snapping the wrapper into non existence.

"Oh!" Shiemi breathed with barely contained excitement she turned to Yukio. "Can I have the day off?"

"Sure, we are down a decent amount of students today anyway. One more absence isn't going to make much of a difference." 

"Play nicely Oniisan." Yukio said directly to Amaimon.

"Yes, yes." Amaimon spoke around the stick of his sucker. "Anuie and Angharad-chan have already given me "the talk". She will be well protected with me."

Yukio bowed slightly. "Thank you."

Amaimon nodded with a bored expression. Shiemi stepped forward with a beaming smile and her keys out. 

"Dinner at 6, drop by if you want to eat!" Rin yelled out after her.

"Ok! I will bring a salad!" Shiemi yelled back as she and Amaimon stepped through the the front door of the dormitory onto the causeway leading to her house.

Amaimon shut the door behind them with a snap and a contemplative silence decended on the room until Ryuji over came his shock.

"So that was the demon king of Earth? He looks like a punk kid!" 

"Don't let looks deceive you, he's nearly as old as Mephisto and even though he isn't as high in rank he is plenty strong. You need an earthquake, volcanic eruption or deadly landslide he's your guy." Rin said for emphasis. 

"But for the most part he just likes growing plants and keeps to himself. He comes off as a bit bland and rude but he has a wicked sense of humor and is happy to play just about any game. He gets bored easily but I think that's a common issue with demons."

Harry blushed at Rin's comments about Amaimon playing, but rallied herself at his theory about bored demons. "No way you plod! You can't blame your crap study habits on your demonic heritage!" 

"She's got you there Nii-san." Yukio said with a laugh.

"Speaking of study habits, I think we are definitely late for class." Konekamaru said worriedly.

"You can't be late if your teacher isn't there yet Miwa-kun. Don't worry, I am scheduled a review block with you first thing so we will just say we decided to have it here at the dorm."

Ryuji check his watch. "Yeah, but we should get going now. Are you sitting in on class today Potter-san?"

Harry settled for a simple nod yes.

"Excellent!" Keonekomaru enthused. "Come on let's go!"

They rallied their school supplies and filed out into the courtyard. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> Your friendly neighborhood Valkyrie here!
> 
> Whew. 
> 
> I know I'm probably posting faster than people are getting around to reading this and I'm guessing a fair number of hits were from people wanting some instant gratification smut (nothing wrong with that) but were turned off by the pace of the first few chapters (character development people! It's a thing!) but I just wanted to shout out to the void:
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has been reading and extra special thanks to those of you who decided to review!
> 
> I have been writing this as a project for my own entertainment and so far it is delivering in spades, but it it a thrill to hear from other actual living beings.
> 
> Connections, we craves them precious.
> 
> So, ya know, if you want to drop me some encouragement or shoot the shit, speculate about where you think this is going, or share your Grandma's best fudge recipe, leave me a comment!
> 
> If you think my writing is incomprehensible garbage that's fine too! I would have to wonder why you got this far....I mean, the tags aren't for the feint of heart but it's really all for the sake of telling a well rounded story....so I suppose I would probably laugh and yell tr00l! 
> 
> But seriously I'm down, let me know what you think!
> 
> Spoiler: I *LOVED* writing this next chapter.....which I will probably post directly after this one.....because I just can't staaaaaaaap!
> 
> Hugs!


	17. Angels and Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Yukio catch up on the events of the day before they are caught off guard by a threat delivered in an up close and personal manner.

Harry locked the door behind everyone and handed Yukio's keys back to him.

Before he had the chance to protest she preemptively flashed a different set of keys on an elaborate gold ring. 

"Mephisto made me my own set and then thought it would be amusing to use the gold from the former ring of Slytherin for the key ring." Harry laughed. "I have to say, it was a stroke of genius because now I can do this." 

Harry fanned her fingers and the keys disappeared. She clenched her hand and the keys popped back into existence.

"Very impressive, but what happened to the ring?" 

"I ah, hmmmm." Harry blushed. "Later? It's a long-ish story with some naughty bits."

"Understood, I have some news for you too, that falls under the same category." Yukio said with a blush before he schooled his expression.

"But for now, I need to get you caught up; we need to talk to Anuie about Shima-san. We think have more evidence to support the theory that he was trying to abduct Kamiki-san, or at least trying coerce her into leaving with him."

Harry stepped down the stairs but hung back to keep pace with Yukio as he let Rin, Konekomaru and Ryuji walk ahead.

"I have a feeling that Anuie may already know, but we need some better protections in place for Kamiki-san. I also think she knows a lot more than she is telling us." Yukio frowned. 

"So far she has mentioned that a group called The Bright Company is performing experiments, presumably on humans possessed by demons. They have her Okaasan, who from the sound of it is possessed, and her Imouto. She says that she made a deal with someone called Dr. Gedouin; they will let her Imouto go if she obtains the rank of tamer second class."

"That is oddly specific. Why tamer second class? What is so special about that ranking?"

Yukio shrugged apologetically. "Until I summoned you I never had any talent as a tamer so I can honestly say I haven't paid much attention to the particulars of the ranking for that Meister and it doesn't sound like Kamiki-san knew either." 

"The way she was talking it sounded like she meant the rank of Tamer Lower Second Class but that is just one step above Exwire. Sure, she would be a ranked exorcist but that's about it; I can't think of anything special about the rank. None of this makes sense and maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I get the feeling like there is something else going on. Like Kamiki-san isn't really the main concern, like she's just the bait on the hook."

"Well, the one thing I have had beat into my head through real life experience is that coincidence is not as common as people think and it isn't paranoia when someone is really out to get you." Harry said without a drop of humor.

Yukio have her a sidelong look and then stopped walking. "We are going to need to figure it out sooner rather than later then. Shiemi said something about you that has stuck with me; she called you a catalyst. I don't think she meant it in a bad way but it seems like the whole world has turned inside out nearly over night."

Yukio turned to lean forward pensively against the railing on the bridge as he looked out over the hodgepodge of architectural styles that combined to make True Cross Acadamy and town. He thinned his lips and for the moment he let his worries briefly take over.

"Story of my life Yukio; I could say I'm sorry, but I'm not. Ultimately it would have to be some poor idiot dealing with this crap and if you are anything like me you wouldn't wish this on anyone else. So really, what choice do you have?"

Yukio sighed. "You are right of course, but I can't help thinking it would be nice to just not have to deal with all this pressure to keep on top of everything. Is it too much to ask for at least a week off from my life, to just be a normal idiot, going about my business without end of the world level problems to solve."

"Don't kid yourself, you know you would miss it. What's life without a near death experience.....or 12...."

"Only you could say something so awful with a smile and mean every word."

"Only you could consider being rendered idiotic a vacation."

"Speaking of idiots, why did you have Amaimon with you this morning?"

Harry leaned back against the railing next to Yukio and giggled. "Did you just call the Earth King an idiot?"

Yukio grinned cheekily. "I know better than to say such a thing about Oniisan."

Harry laughed outright. "Well, he was staying over at Mephisto's last night. Mephisto had some kind of emergency meeting this morning and needed Amaimon out from underfoot. I figured worst case scenario he and I could play some board games until Mephisto came to fetch him but I think Shiemi taking him home to her garden was a much better idea."

"I was a bit surprised about that but I suppose it makes sense. And he's not an idiot, not really, but he is a bit strange."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, but by demon standards we are positively bizarre with all of our complex and conflicting feelings. I think he's just having a hard time figuring everyone out. Mephisto comes close to acting human most of the time but then he flips into full on demon mode and suddenly it's easy to see just how alien they are by human standards."

"It sounds like you have been thinking about this a lot."

Harry shrugged. "I could think about it more but it seems pretty pointless to try to psychoanalyze demons. What I *can* say is that they are very single minded in purpose, nearly archetypally so, even if that purpose varies greatly from one demon to another. They are very fixed on their own wants, needs or desires and cannot fathom the kind of divided interests that many humans cultivate. The idea of self denial or self doubt is an anathema to them."

Yukio nodded. "Your analysis makes sense and is almost identical to what Tou-san taught me. Humans that are passionately fanatical about something to the exclusion of everything else are the most likely to be possessed because their single mindedness makes them aligned with demonic auras. Anuie is a little different but only in that his obsession seems to be the preservation of humanity, whereas most demons are ambivalent to human lives at best."

Harry nodded her agreement and then straightened up slightly. "Well look at that! Speak of the devil and he shall appear. What do you think is going on?"

Harry was looking back the they way they came so Yukio turned to see what she was looking at. At the head of a group of black coated people were two tall men in spotlessly white suits. One of them had the distinctive pink and purple accents of Mephisto, the other a thick gold braid on his uniform that matched his shining golden hair.

"Oh shit!" Yukio breathed. "Do you think they have seen us?"

"Definitely. They paused for a second and the blond guy in white is heading this way with Mephisto hot on his heels." Harry frowned. "What is with that sword?! Is he compensating for something?"

Yukio gave a short laugh that was just a shade hysterical but before he could he could respond they were being hailed by a booming voice.

"YOU! DEMON! HALT!" The figure in white shouted threateningly as he approached.

Yukio and Harry looked at each other.

Yukio spoke up. "Are you talking to me sir?"

"I know who you are even though you aren't wearing your uniform Middle First Class Exorcist Okumura!" 

Yukio frowned and bit back his impulse to lash out. "I have special dispensation. As a full time student here I am also allowed to wear my True Cross Academy uniform."

"Yes Arthur, that is what I was explaining when you so rudely walked away." Mephisto said, finally catching up.

Arthur swung his sword around to point at Mephisto while he used his off hand to point at Yukio. "Both of you, shut up!"

Bringing his attention back to Harry his eyes took on a terribly angry gleam. "How dare you! I should exorcise you where you stand you foul creature!"

The rest of the exorcists caught up and as they are trained to do, assumed a defensive position as back up. In response Yukio drew his pistols as Mephisto flourished his umbrella. The result was a tense stand off.

"I am afraid, Paladin or not, I cannot allow you to harm the Lady Potter." Mephisto said with affected calm.

Arthur let out a short, cold, laugh. 

"You are even using her name, just wearing her face wasn't enough eh?" he slipped angrily into English. "Who put you up to this? I demand that you answer me now."

"What do you mean?" Yukio asked in confusion. "Harry is Harry, no one has put her up to anything?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes in rage. "I told you to SHUT UP! Angrahad Potter ez dead! This ez an abomination wearing her face and for that very reason alone it should be destroyed!"

Harry had been watching the man's movements in a daze, there was something familiar about him but she couldn't place it. The barely accented English reminded her of something and then suddenly it came together.

"Angelus!?! Angelus Delacour?" Harry gasped. "No way! You got huge!"

Arthur stumbled back slightly. "How do you know that name?!" 

Harry smiled softly. "Fleur kept trying to get you to talk to me but you were so shy you wouldn't come out from behind her cloak. She teased you about being a brave king but you said that you thought Arthur was a stupid name, you liked your middle name Angel much better. Then you introduced yourself as Angelus."

Arthur lowered his sword with a skeptical look on his face before he sheathed it with a thoughtful frown.

"Show me your right arm."

Harry compiled showing off the scar from the basilisk fang.

"Draw the sword." 

Harry gestured to the exorcists who had various weapons drawn and ready. "If I pull out a sword they are going to shoot."

"All of you stand down now! This is a private matter and does not concern the order!"

The shuffling and clicking of weapons being stowed continued for several seconds until all the exorcists were standing empty handed.

Yukio kept his pistols drawn but lowered, Mephisto brought his umbrella back to lean on but was ready to move at a moment's notice. 

"The sword." Arthur demanded.

Harry nodded and without hesitation the sword of Gryffindor materialized in her hand.

Arthur studied it closely for a long minute. "Enough." He whispered in a broken voice.

Harry was shocked to realize he was crying.

"Angelus?" She said stepping forward cautiously.

Suddenly Arthur swept her up into a crushing embrace and wept noisily into her hair.

Yukio and Mephisto exchanged shocked looks while the rest of the exorcists stared in horror at their Paladin seemingly having a complete emotional meltdown.

A scruffy man in a wide brimmed hat and a poncho sidled up to Yukio. He eyeballed Yukio's pistols which he was still holding at a low ready. "You should go ahead and put those away before anyone notices you drew your weapons on the Paladin."

"You mean anyone but you and Sir Pheles?" Yukio asked flippantly as he quickly re engaged the safeties and holstered his sidearms.

This earned him a chuckle. "Nice one kid, I look to having a chat later."

"I can't wait Sir Light." Yukio deadpanned while Mephisto looked on in frank amusement before working a more serious expression onto his face.

"Mon coeur était brisé, je pensais que tu étais mort!" Arthur said just loudly enough to be heard by the three of them and Mephisto nearly lost his professional facade.

"Lewin, do you think one of us should step in? As it is, she really will be dead because he will have smothered her." Mephisto barely managed to hold back his giggles giving his voice an odd high tone.

Lewin grinned. "Nah, this is classic black mail material. I say we let it ride out so we can heckle him later."

At that Mephisto's composure cracked and he stuffed the back of his hand halfway into his mouth to muffle the sound of his laughter.

"Angelus, Angelus! English please! And you're crushing me!" Harry gasped out over Arthur's pained little noises.

"They said you died!" Arthur finally managed with a great shuddering breath.

"Well yes, the DMLE sentenced me to immediate execution. Obviously it didn't take or I wouldn't be here." Harry said in a voice that was slightly muffled by his jacket.

Arthur adjusted his grip setting Harry on her feet and allowed her to pull away slightly so he could see her face.

"The portraits reported that you were disarmed and brought before Voldemort. They said he cast the killing curse as you cut his head off with the sword of Gryffindor. Then Rabastan Lestrange cast fiendfyre but he lost control and it killed every living thing in the Manor, not even the house elves escaped. The remains were so carbonized the bodies for the most part had to be identified by wand registration."

Arthur took another shuddering breath. "They found your wand, the last spell cast through it was a lumos from the previous day. Your name was posted on the list of casualties and we were devastated!"

"Neville would have known differently!" Harry gasped suddenly. "Shit! What happened to Neville."

"Lord Longbottom?" Arthur hesitated. "With you declared dead and Hermione Granger missing he became the next target for the remaining Voldemort sympathizers. He was abducted from Diagon Ally. Eventually the aurors were able to recover him but by then he was too far gone. He shares a ward with his parents in St. Mungos."

Harry angrily exploded into vulgarities. 

"Those cack-handed gobshite twats! It was the aurors who detained me, they accused me of mass murder even though the only person I killed was that snake faced cunt and he was fucking was owed! Then they thought they'd get rid of me via the fucking death veil in the Department of Mysteries!"

"But that's illegal!" Arthur exclaimed. "You should have at least had a trial, due course!"

"I fucking know mate! I had just come from Longbottom manor and Neville was the only person who had seen me after that fucking nightmare at Malfoy Manor!"

Harry put her hands on Arthur's face. "I swear to you on our friendship that I tried to save those people. But I wasn't fast enough or strong enough. By the time I managed to subdue the fire they were all dead."

Arthur turned an angry shade of red. "Are you saying the DMLE conspired to silence Lord Longbottom to cover up the fact they had illegally executed you?!"

Harry nodded. "It seems that way. I spent 15 years in limbo before Yukio pulled me out five days ago. I'm sorry I didn't try to find you right away, this has been so crazy!"

"Exorcist Okumura?" Arthur asked slowly. "Twin brother of Rin Okumura......summoned you from limbo?"

"Yes but then Rin summoned me as well and things got a little complicated but the three of us have been getting along splendidly." Harry said with genuine enthusiasm. "They have been very kind."

"Summoned you? From limbo?" Arthur breathed in horror. "How? What changed?" He began skimming his fingers over her ears and face, checking her nails and teeth, even going so far as to pat her backside which was beyond awkward.

"Hey, calm down. I'm still me." Harry said gently. "There are changes but they aren't so obvious. As far as the how, remember the ring I stole from that nasty shack near the house those death eaters took us to?"

Arthur shuddered. "Vaguely. I remember being violently sick from the cold water and whatever spell they used on the hostages, then elated we were almost free of the wards. Then you suddenly ran off. I thought you were crazy and I thought we were going to die. Then you were back with the ring and a phoenix and then foom, we were back at Hogwarts." He shook his head. "I was never so happy to see my snotty older sister in all my life."

Harry laughed. "Oh you mean your sister Phlegm?"

"Gods, she absolutely hated that!" He smiled widely. "I should call her that next time I see her just for old times sake!"

"You see Fleur often?"

"No, not since she married a Weasley and went to work for the goblins as a curse breaker." Arthur gave a wry smile. "Ma'man is still angry about that."

"What, about the job or the Weasleys?" Harry laughed.

"Both!" Arthur chuckled along. "My apologies, I didn't mean to change the subject."

Harry waved away his concern and continued. "Then I acquired my father's invisibly cloak and the headmaster's wand."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Dumbledore's wand? Why would you have Dumbledore's wand?"

"You don't remember what happened when Fawkes brought us into Hogwarts?"

"I recall the headmaster's office and a lot of yelling."

"That ring set off every dark detector in the room so Dumbledore decided to fire first and ask questions later. Thankfully I was tiny bit quicker on the draw and managed to get out an expelliarmis before he could blow us all to kingdom come."

Harry chuckled darkly. "Turns out he got the wand off of his old lover Grindelwald when he finally stepped in to challenge him towards the end of the war. Me disarming him changed it's allegiance and it became mine."

"The elder wand." Arthur breathed. "And your father's cloak must have been the true cloak of invisibility, but what about the ring?"

"In the setting was a curious stone." Harry said in a quiet voice. "No light fell upon it but all seemed drawn towards it."

"It's real, the story is real?" Arthur choked out.

Harry nodded. "There is something else you need to see and I would appreciate it if the exorcists could step back a ways."

Angel rounded on the gaggle of exorcists that were doing their best to eavesdrop without being obvious. "You all know where we are going. Go ahead of us, Sir Pheles, Lightning and I will catch up."

"Yes Sir." came sullenly from a multitude of voices as the gaggle of black uniformed individuals turned and walked the rest of the way over the bridge.

"No tact or subtly in that group I swear." Arthur frowned.

Having an inkling of where Harry was going with this Mephisto stepped forward. "Would anyone object to a minor illusion spell to obscure us from prying eyes?"

Arthur turned to his partner "Lewin, any objections?"

"Nah." Lewin grinned. "Go for it."

Mephisto twirled his umbrella three time and nodded to Harry.

"Yuki." Harry said seriously. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't terribly important but will you please show Angelus your chest."  

Yukio nodded his assent and was thankful that he decided on comfort over formality and forewent an undershirt. It only took a few buttons and some maneuvering with his tie to bare the silver scar on his his chest.

Arthur sucked in a sharp breath. "I take it that Rin Okumura is similarly marked."

Yukio nodded yes. "Exactly the same." he added for clarification.

"Angelus, I'm not trying to make threats or cause you any strife but both Yukio and Rin are under my ageis. To start shit with them is to start it with me. Also, Shiemi Moriyama is similarly off limits." Arthur started to ask but Harry cut him off. "She is my blood sister in full by the ancient rite and is Heir apparent of The Ancient and Noble House Black and Heir after me to houses Potter, Peverell and Slytherin."

Arthur gaped for a moment before he rubbed his hand down his face.

"Congratulations." he said absently. "You have has a very full five days haven't you."

Yukio buttoned up his shirt. "You may as well lay the rest of it out there."

Harry gave Yukio a sharp look. "Are you absolutely certain?"

"No, but I would rather be upfront then have this bite me in the ass later. Its not the sort of thing that is going to stay hidden for long."

Harry nodded grimly. "I will go first then."

Harry turned to Arthur. "Do you still trust me?"

Arthur met her eyes solemnly. "With my life."

Harry clasped his hands, turning and shaping them until they rested in hers slightly curled palm up, as if to collect rain.

"This is just like when we traveled by phoenix, don't panic, I won't let you get hurt."

Harry concentrated for a second and with a small whoosh of displaced air, a blue flame sprang merrily to life in his hands. Arthur's immediate reaction was to pull away screaming but Harry's grip was firm.

"It's fine! You are safe! The flame belongs to me and I won't let it hurt you. Just breath normally." Harry said in a soothing voice.

Arthur mentally got a grip and worked on actively calming down. Once he got over his initial terror he admitted to himself the flame was rather pretty azure blue, almost electric in its intensity.

He gazed at it wistfully and was only a little surprized when Harry pulled her hands away.

The flame continued to burn pleasantly, making him feel warm and happy. He rolled it from one hand to the other before tossing it experimentally and catching it as it fell.

Arthur laughed like a little boy. 

"I haven't done this since Grand'Mere died. Ma'man and Fleur can produce the flames but do not have the control to allow others to handle them." He shook his head. "Of course, none of theirs are blue. Only the God of Gehenna can produce flames with this color and quality....and now you. They are quite beautiful actually."

Harry smiled at the compliment. "I know you were hoping to get your own when you grew up. No luck?"

"Non. Too many things against me, not a strong enough blood tie, being born a boy and I never was able to shift either. I might have a weak version of the allure but it is hard to tell." Arthur blushed. "I have been told that I am aesthetically pleasing enough in general that if I had a discernable allure I would be 'beating them off with a stick'."

Mephisto laughed sharply but stopped abruptly as Arthur bounced the little fireball in his hand once wile giving him a warning glare.

"Well, let me know anytime you want to play. I don't mind." Harry said with genuine enthusiasm.

"Thank you Harry, I will keep that in mind." He said softly, looking mildly disappointed as the little fire went out.

"One more time, I need to ask you to extend trust and not freak out."

Arthur nodded solemnly.

Yukio took a few deep breaths and reached for the contented warm glow that beat in his chest. Slowly and patiently he let it out to his fingertips and then smiled when they flickered alight.

"I did it all by myself this time Harry-chan." Yukio said with a wide happy smile.

Arthur was suddenly struck by how young Yukio looked. He was so accustomed to seeing Okumura with Fujimoto, a short solemn shadow following in the wake of the famed exorcist that it was easy to forget that he was barely grown. Since Fujimoto's death the Vatican had been putting more and more pressure on Okumura, but the kid just nodded and did the job without complaint. He was a truly remarkable and prodigious talent.

Arthur held out his hands. Yukio gave him a questioning look.

"If Harry trusts you can do it then I trust you can do it." Arthur said simply.

"Go for it Yuki." Harry said brightly. "They are your flames you control what they do and don't burn."

"Ok." Yukio nodded and with a slight tremor he reached out and clasped Arthur's hands in his own.

"Oh!" Yukio said in surprise. "You feel a lot like Tou-san did."

Arthur watched as Yukio's flames crawled over his flesh curiously. He smiled at Yukio. "They tickle a little but they aren't putting off any heat."

Yukio looked at him seriously. "Right now you are Harry-chan's friend, I have no reason to hurt you."

In that moment Arthur was struck by another revelation about Yukio that was absolutely terrifying.

The whole time the Vatican had been scrambling like an overturned ant hill to figure out how to deal with Rin Okumura that they completely forgot that Yukio was already a well trained and accomplished killer.

Rin Okumura would hesitate and over extend himself in his inexperience. Yukio Okumura had none of those weaknesses and if it wasn't for his extremely young age, would have already advanced much further in rank based on merit alone.

Now he was poised to tack on a third Meister as tamer to a now demonically manifested "girl who lived". There wasn't a place on earth remote enough to shelter them from the fallout if Yukio went on a rampage.

The Vatican would need to change their tune about the Okumura twins fast or he was certain the entire organization would be razed to the ground with brutal efficiency.

Yukio caught sight of the grimace on Arthur's face. "Are you all right?" 

"Yes I'm fine, as usual Exorcist Okumura your performance was exceptional. So that makes you, Harry and your brother Rin all independent wielders of the blue flames." He looked over at Lewin who was leaning casually against the railing.

"Lewin, what do think."

Lewin let out a short incredulous laugh.

"The Vatican's gonna freak the fuck out. Best case scenario they are going to drop a kill on sight order."

"We will fight to defend ourselves but we do not want to engage on a level that could potentially lead to the activation of Armageddon protocols." Yukio said seriously. "Some of the operations that have been back-burnered in the last decade make things like the American's defunct Project Pluto seem sane by comparison. Project Jacob's Ladder ring any bells?"  

Mephisto and Arthur just stared while Lewin laughed hysterically.

Yukio's face took on an obstinate cast. "Everyone always seems to forget Chichi was the previous Paladin."

Arthur was struggling to contain his shock. "Yes but the Paladin is sworn to secrecy and couldn't have possibly shared that information with you!"

"I do know how to read." Yukio sneered sarcastically.

Lewin laughed harder. "I love this kid!" He gasped out. "He's so precocious! Can I keep him?"

"Sorry." Harry drawled. "He's my pet genius. You are going have to find your own. I could introduce you to the kid with the skunk stripe, he seems pretty quick on the uptake."

"You mean Sugaro Ryuji?" Yukio asked.

"Yeah, he's not so analytical that he misses the forest for the toothpicks but he picks up on details other people miss and sees patterns quickly." Harry shrugged. "Aside from his shit temper he's pretty impressive."

Yukio rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, well. I think we may have accidentally recruited him and Miwa Konekomaru this morning. After the whole thing with Shima Renzou last night Nii-san, Shiemi-chan and I decided to tell the rest of the class the truth about our heritage. The discussion turned up some interesting information."

Yukio turned to Mephisto. "I have been thinking about this and rather than regurgitate verbatim what Kamiki-san told me I would like to present a theory."

"By all means, you have my attention Yuki-chan." Mephisto smiled dangerously.

Yukio sighed at the veiled threat but continued on. "Shima-san is either an agent or a double agent working for an organization that is trying to either monetize or weaponize demonic possession."

"I admit, I'm impressed." Mephisto crossed his hands and leaned on his umbrella. "I am feeling somewhat.....charitable. Generally speaking I prefer to keep my cards close to my chest but since everyone is in a sharing mood today I may as well contribute. Shima-san was approached by a representative of the Koumyou Foundation just before he was supposed to start at True Cross Academy. I thought it would be beneficial to take advantage of their overture to hire Shima-san to infiltrate their ranks as a spy. The upper echelons of that organization call themselves the Illuminati. I believe the organization is under the leadership of Lucifer, the King of Light; he was always a bit full of himself and it is his style to name everything after himself in an obnoxiously egotistical manner." Mephisto sighed dramatically. 

"However I digress.....what is important to understand is that it is unusual for them to be interested in a person so young as Shima-san. His familiar is Yamantaka, and while Shima-san himself is not very powerful, yet, Yamantaka's flames can destroy spirit, soul and magical constructs which makes him a formidable weapon."

"That makes sense. Kamiki-san said that he got her alone one time and he used black flames that made her feel weak and faint."

Mephisto cocked an eyebrow. "That I did not know. What was his interest in Kamiki-san?"

Yukio tilted his glasses up causing them to catch the light momentarily.

"At first we thought he was just being a pervert but that behavior seems to be mostly for show. Some of this is just conjecture but Kamiki-san told us once she was descended from a long line of mikos. Shiemi-chan believes her two fox familiars are actually family to her and Kamiki-san is terrified of her Okaasan, says she is a monster." 

Settling his glasses back down Yukio continued. "It isn't likely that she is more than a small percentage of demonic blood based on her abilities; her aura is fairly weak all things considered. So it is more likely that her Okaasan is possessed by a demon, most likely a vengeful spirit of Inari."

"What I want to know is what does being a second class tamer entail?" Harry interjected.

Both Mephisto and Arthur turned to look at Lewin. 

"Ok, I guess it's my turn to talk then. Being a tamer doesn't mean much more than having the ability to summon in the lower second class but it depends on the tamer. Tamer is one of the the hardest Meisters to gain rank in; not because it's difficult to learn, but because you either have the ability or you don't."

"If a tamer is able to achieve the rank of Middle Second Class that means they are can to channel some of their familiar's abilities directly and can sometimes call on a particular demonic ability or power without a formal relationship with a familiar as long as they have a suitable conduit." Lewin looked at the glances Harry and Yukio were exchanging. "Shit."

"Yes, shit indeed." Yukio agreed. "The illuminati are holding Kamiki-san's Okaasan and Imouto hostage on the condition that she obtain the rank of tamer second class. If she makes the rank they say they will let her Imouto go, otherwise they plan to use her for experiments. It sounds like they want to see if she can be forced to sustain a full possession but still maintain control."

Mephisto snorted. "There is no way they can actually uphold that promise even if she achieves the rank. We recovered her Imouto and placed her with an adoptive family some time ago. Her Imouto is safe so they must be getting desperate, something isn't working the way they want it to and they are running out of time and bodies."

"That could explain Shima-san's actions last night. Kamiki-san believes that he chose the room she was staying in to break out of so he could force her to go with him." Yukio's face showed how little he thought of that. "Luckily she had been actively avoiding him so she wasn't there when he expected her to be and because of his dramatic blow up in the kitchen he only had a narrow window of opportunity before Suguro-kun came looking for him."

"Where is Kamiki-san now?" Arthur asked with concern.

"I marked her down as sick and left her with her best friend and fellow Paige, Paku-san, at our dormitory because it is the building with the strongest wards on campus."

Mephisto nodded. "Well done."

"Indeed." Arthur echoed.

"Well, I think we all need some time to assimilate this information and decide how we are going to cooperate to keep things from going ka-boom!" Lewin made a dramatic gesture with his hands that Harry snickered at.

"Ah ha ha! Jazz hands!" Harry laughed. "I like this guy Angelus!"

Lewin smiled. "Do we want to get together for dinner later?"

Mephisto clapped his hands together delightedly but Yukio cut him off. 

"I wouldn't want your dining room table broken again Anuie." Yukio said sweetly. 

"Nii-san is cooking this evening and if you lend him Ukobach then I am sure he won't have a problem cooking for three more. Shiemi-chan and Amaimon-sama will be bringing the salad; I don't know about you but I am curious to see what those two come up with." 

Harry laughed at the sour expression on Mephisto's face. "Buck up, it won't kill you to slum it. Let's save your fine china the wear and tear of what is sure to be another thrilling evening."

Mephisto sniffed "It is true that Sunday night was a bit....chaotic. I generally don't find myself on the business end of a sword twice in one evening, and I happily remind you that as the host is was my responsibility to provide refreshments, you must concede the food was exquisite."

Yukio smiled wickedly. "I don't know, Nii-san's food is just a little better I think."

Yukio talked over Mephisto's spluttered protest. "You know, we should alternate, one day a week we have dinner at yours and you wow us with your idea of a fine dining experience and then a different day of the week we cook at ours. That way you can educate us on the finer points of culture and Nii-san gets to try out some new recipes. He made jianbing this morning that was nearly orgasmic it was so delicious."

Mephisto practically bounced in place. "Jianbing, really!? How delightful! Yes, I agree, what a fantastic idea! I am proud to serve as an inspiration to you Yuki-chan, human food is quite fascinating!" He looked put upon for a moment. "I have attempted in the past to cultivate Amaimon's palate but sadly he only seems to like sweets."

"Amaimon?" Angelus questioned the group at large. "Who is Amaimon?"

Mephisto gave Arthur a slightly contemptuous look. "Amaimon is a demon who is a lord in his own right but is vassel unto me. He is a little uncultured in the ways of Assiah but he is reasonably safe to interact with."

"The only Amaimon I know of is the Demon King of Earth." Arthur said a bit slowly. "Who the hell does that make you if you are the liege lord of the Demon King of Earth?"

Mephisto gave Arthur a flat look. 

"Now you are living up to the stereotype of your hair color." he sighed. "And this conversation was so promising!"

"Look here you demon, I don't appreciate your attitude!" Arthur growled out.

Mephisto sniffed. "And now we are back to "you demon" not 'Thank you Mephisto for all the hard work you put in on a daily basis to ensure the survival of humanity against overwhelming odds. Oh no, it's always "you demon" whenever you talk to me."

Harry frowned. "That does seem a bit rude Angelus, is there something that Mephisto said or did to you to make you feel this way?" 

Arthur crossed his arms. "It has been brought to my attention, multiple times by multiple sources that Satan possessed and killed Father Shiro Fujimoto. The popular theory is that his close relationship with Sir Pheles is what led to his lowered defenses and ultimate demise."

Mephisto swept his umbrella up with an angry snarl. "Just what exactly are you implying about my friendship with Shiro-kun? I would think very carefully before answering. Depending on your answer I may decide to take the risk of pissing Harry off to have the opportunity to rip out your slanderous tongue!"

"Woah!" Yukio stepped between Mephisto and Arthur. "Chil out! The reason Satan was able to possess Tou-san was because he got angry and slapped Nii-san."

Seeing that Mephisto and Arthur were still postured to fight Yukio hurried to explain.

"Tou-san never laid a hand on either of us growing up. If we did something wrong we got a lecture, or chores, teased and made fun of sure, but never once did Tou-san ever touch either of us in anger. Nii-san said that he accused Tou-san of only pretending to care and in that split second Tou-san slapped him and then he just stopped....stopped moving....stopped breathing, and then told him to run. Nii-san was so shocked he froze in place and then Tou-san burst into blue flames and began laughing."

Yukio scrubbed at his eyes. "I'm sorry, it's still hard to talk about."

"Tou-san." His voice cracked slightly. "Tou-san was a good person and a strong exorcist but he said something to Rin before he died that has stuck with me since Rin told me. Tou-san said that "demons tend to possess those most similar to themselves", it makes sense in a messed up way that our biological father would try to possess our actual father, that Satan was ready and waiting for the slightest moment of self doubt to give him an opening."

Yukio sniffed. "It's just fuck....if he hadn't cared so much he would still be alive."

"But then he wouldn't have been your Tou-san ." Mephisto said gently in a rare moment of empathy. "He truly loved you and Rin-chan just as he loved your Okaasan as a cherished Imouto. There wasn't much in his life, especially when he was younger, that could be considered positive or good." 

"Yuri used to get on his nerves frequently, there were some fundamental things about life that they didn't agree on, and for many years when they were training to be exorcists he didn't give her the time of day. But in the long run she was the only person that really made him smile until you and Rin came along. It may not feel like it now but you were a blessing in his life. Take comfort in knowing how much you were loved by him."

Yukio was crying openly into Mephisto's coat and while Mephisto cringed at the mess that Yukio was making of his clothing he readily put his arms around Yukio's shoulders and pet his hair gently. 

"To answer your earlier question Arthur, I am second only to Lucifer with Otōsama above all of us. I consider this to be something of an open secret, which is to say that I am not terribly discreet in both word and deed. Those who know enough to know who I am, generally also realize that myself and my cohort have made significant contributions to human kind's ability to mitigate the damage from the weakening barriers between Gehenna and Assiah. We have been running damage control for eons and if you cannot wrap your mind around that then we are going have serious problems working together."

Arthur bowed."I apologize for allowing my prejudice to color my perception of your position in the organization. I meant what I said but I now realize that my concerns are at least somewhat unfounded. I trust you to see your purpose through to the end and for whatever reason your purpose is aligned with that of the order. Because of that I will no longer question your motives so vigorously. Instead I will look towards your actions for proof of your sincerity."

Mephisto inclined his head."Your apology is accepted and by all means feel free to continue to behave antagonistically towards me in mixed company. It is apparent that being seen to be too friendly towards me is a social liability. But keep in mind that some topics are guaranteed piss me off beyond sense or reason and because of that Shiro-kun is absolutely off limits."

"Agreed. And no heckling over Harry either." Arthur stayed firmly.

Mephisto inclined his head in agreement while he slowly worked Yukio away from his jacket. 

"Shush now, that's enough. If you issue any more fluids from your face you are going to stain my undershirt, which is silk and takes moisture so badly it would likely be ruined."

Yukio began to laugh. "Even if it's horrible you always manage to say just the right thing to cheer me up. Good thing I know exactly what to say to make you feel better too, Scourgify!"

Mephisto's suit was once again immaculate. 

"Excellent Yuki-chan just next time use a lighter touch." He pet the front of his coat lightly. "My chest is still a bit sore from last night. Harry-chan's version of that spell was unnecessarily brutal!"

"Unnecessarily brutal!?" Harry squeaked in outrage. "Who threw whom into a bath with a demonically possessed rubber duck!"

Lewin snorted loudly at the horrified look on Arthur's face.

"That my dear was what they call an accident. When I had last checked the toy had a simple, if disturbing, enchantment, which I dispelled immediately. How was I supposed to know the damnable thing had grown sentient!?" Mephisto growled.

"Thankfully I was saved from being assaulted, and no thanks to you! You were too busy observing it's behaviour! Amaimon had to carry me on his shoulders; just so you know candy bubbles do not make for adequate protection from chafing in intimate places!" Harry stomped her foot in outrage.

Mephisto flung his arms out in agitation, narrowly missing Yukio's face with his umbrella. "It was a fascinating and unique possession!"

"It was a terrifying abuse of a child's bath toy!" Harry countered.

"Well yes! That's what made it so interesting!" Mephisto agreed.

"So wait, we aren't actually arguing about anything!?" Harry said with confusion. "So why are we yelling!?"

"I don't know!" Mephisto yelled one last time. "What time is dinner tonight Harry-chan?"

"Rin told Shiemi 6." Harry said sweetly.

Mephisto produced an oversized pocket watch. "This conversation has gone on entirely too long. EINS, ZWEI, DREI!" snap POOF!

He tapped his umbrella three times and cancelled the illusion. 

"Come along now before we completely corrupt our dear Angel with our rough conversation." Mephisto walked unhurriedly towards the cram school with Arthur closely behind him, hovering agitatedly like a wrathful shadow.

***********************

OMAKE:

 

♡ "Ahhhh Arthur-sama! Someone told me you used to be a girl?!" ♡

♡ "But don't worry Arthur-sama! Don't worry, you are equally amazing as a boy or a girl!" ♡

♡ "I am so happy to lend you my power, just give me a taste of your flesh, your blood, your tears, your sweat, your seed, even a bit of your golden hair will work!" ♡

"Seed?!"☆

"That was one time and it was a necessity!" 

♡ "NYAH! IT'S.ALL.SO.GOOD! MMMMMMMMM ARTHUR-SAMA!!" ♡

"Contain your sword Angel, it's starting to leave a puddle of....something on my floor." ☆

"Ah, my apologies Sir Pheles. Caliburn gets a little over excited from time to time. But I have no idea where she's getting the idea that I used to be a girl?"

"She?" 

"Be nice Lewin, I don't want to get into that discussion right now."

"Whatever you say Arthur."

♡ "SO DELICIOUS!" ♡

"Creepy ass sword."

"Don't blame me, it's a family heirloom."

"You know, demons tend to be drawn towards humans that are like themselves in some way....I think Gabrielle Agusta Angelica Delacour is a lovely name. May I call you Gabbie-chan?" ☆

"NO!"

"Whyever not?"

"THAT ISN'T MY NAME!"

"Hmmmmmm but it could be!" ☆

"Lewin! Make him stop!"

"Come now Mephisto, you know that Arthur's masculinity is an easy target of ridicule. I expect you to pick something challenging next time ok!"

"HEY!"

"Sorry, I am all out of burn cream!" ☆

♡ "BOTH OF YOU STOP PICKING ON MY ARTHUR-SAMA!" ♡

"FUFUFU! NEVER!"☆

"BWAHAHAHA! I'm with Mephisto on this one, sorry, not sorry!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am flipping genders like.... 
> 
> (ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻ 
> 
> ....and fireing canon out of a cannon. 
> 
> ᐛ )パち( ᐛ )パち
> 
>    
> Translation notes:
> 
> Mon coeur était brisé, je pensais que tu étais mort = my heart was broken I thought you were dead


	18. A Menagerie of Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While he isn't the smartest guy in the room, Arthur shows that he has plenty of heart and soul to make up for it.
> 
> Warning: non explicit references to sex trafficking and sexual assault.

"Sir Pheles, what exactly were you doing with Harry in the bath?!" Arthur demanded aggressively.

"Off limits!" Mephisto sing songed. "Besides, I am sure that any explanation would be lost on someone so......pure of mind and spirit." 

Lewin cackled while Harry and Yukio blushed and tried to keep straight faces.

"That's just....Mephisto!" Arthur whined.

"Ah but my dear Angel, looks are deceiving." Mephisto said urbanely. "Despite the fetching school girl outfit, which is not particularly a fetish of mine, thank goodness for that as I do run an actual school, our Harry-chan is sufficiently grown by demon standards and quite capable of handling herself in an adult situation." 

A chagrined Arthur fell back to walk next to Harry momentarily. 

"I apologize for prying Harry. It's just....the last time I saw you we were both kids and it's a little hard to remember that we are roughly the same age with you looking exactly as I remember."

"I don't know if I will ever look any older and to be perfectly frank it's a bit upsetting. No one wants to look 15 forever." 

Switching subjects quickly Harry snickered. "When I met you I couldn't believe you were 14! You looked like you were 11 and acted like you were 8!" 

Angel sniffed. "Yes well even as a quarter, Veela boys are incredibly rare and a little slow to mature. As for my shyness I was horribly sheltered by the......formidable women of our extended family."

"You don't piss off Veelas, they throw fireballs!"

"Exactly." Arthur said dryly. "The only reason they let me out of the enclave at all is because it was a show of good faith on the part of our Ministry to have me attend the tournament with my sister." 

"That and I made a passionate appeal to my father about the once in a lifetime opportunity to see a Triwizard Tournament. Considering they had just lifted the ban after 200 years and there was a good chance it would get immediately banned again papa saw it my way and ma'man has always had a soft spot for him." 

"What is this about a tournament?" Yukio asked.

Harry frowned briefly. "When I was in my forth year our school hosted students from two other magical schools for a year long tournament. It had been banned before because of the high death toll but some idiots decided to bring it back."

"Harry was the youngest competitor and winner of the Triwizard cup in history." Angelus said with pride. "Possibly holding the title in perpetuity as the tournament has been banned again."

"I didn't enter by choice mind you. There was an agent of Voldemort who was pulling strings who illegally entered me in the competition, presumably as part of a convoluted plot to kill me off. The entry into the competition was a binding magical contract and I was forced to compete."

"She was phenomenal." Arthur said enthusiastically. "She faced off against a nesting mother dragon and negotiated the exchange of a false egg for a small amount of gold!"

Yukio laughed. "That's our Harry-chan terrifyingly adept at everything!" 

"I'm a parslemouth and the dragon really did get the better end of the deal. The egg was gold but it was hollow so I just offered her sufficient gold to replace it and then a little more for her time." Harry said defensively. "It wasn't exactly rocket surgery!"

"Yes, but then again you were the only competitor to walk away without a single injury or loss of life. Then in the second task...." 

"Don't you mean the trap?" Harry interrupted angrily.

"Yes it was a trap but that doesn't change the fact that you saved my life." Arthur said matter of factly.

"I got you captured by Death Eaters; I should have stayed away from you after I retrieved Hermione from the lake."

"Yes, we did get captured by Death Eaters but if you hadn't come back for me I would have drowned. Madame Pomphrey was very clear on the matter." Arthur frowned. "You saved my life Harry."

"Don't! Don't you dare!" Harry said dangerously. "Because of me you were hurt by those animals, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and it is entirely my fault that they got a hold of you!"

"Non! Because of you I survived!" Arthur said firmly. "You don't think they would have wanted to take me if you weren't there?" 

Harry shook her head stubbornly.

"Ask me how I earned my wings Harry." He said softly as he gestured to the highly stylized cape like wings that trailed behind him and provided a brilliant splash of color against his otherwise monochromatic uniform. 

Taking in his somber expression and absolute sincerity Harry began to feel her anger evaporate to be replaced by a feeling of dread.

"How did you earn your wings Angelus?" Harry asked shakily.

"After you killed Voldemort and the upper echelon of the Death Eaters died in the Malfoy Manor fire, the rest of the cockroaches scurried back into the shadows. People were just relieved that the war was over and things could get back to normal. I finished my schooling early and took a job with the ICW smuggling taskforce." 

"Our mandate was to enforce the rules that applied to the trade of exotic magical creatures to prevent unauthorized breaches of the statute of secrecy as well as to contain potentially invasive species." 

He grimaced painfully. "I discovered my leadership were complicit in the smuggling of "exotic birds". Further investigation revealed that the so called birds were Veela children. They were trafficked for the black market sex trade and as soon as they showed signs of reaching puberty they were murdered. The smugglers didn't want the risk a fully manifested Veela would bring to their operation." 

"I traced the organization all the way back to Walden McNair." Arthur said looking sideways at Harry.

Harry swore vehemently. "That fucking sadistic cunt! Don't tell me he's still alive!?" 

"Not anymore, I killed him myself with his own ax." He said darkly. "In short I eliminated the key players in the organization and exposed the ICW leadership to international scrutiny."

"The children were successfully fostered by the Enclave of the Court and the laws were rewritten to reclassify Veela from creature to person status. So far I have heard that the Centaurs and Merpeople are recently pushing for similar legislation. In recognition for surviving my own ordeal and going on to revenge myself and save the lives of other Veela the Enclave symbolicaly granted me adult status, despite the fact that I am physically incapable of maturity as Veela understand it. The True Cross Order approached me about becoming an exorcist through a field agent who scouted me and here I am today." Arthur said simply.

For a few minutes the only sounds were the muted clicks of shoes striking the pavement of the walkway. Even Mephisto refrained from breaking the heavy silence. 

Eventually Arthur spoke again.

"Harry....they had been running that operation and funneling money back to the Death Eaters for decades. The loss of life was incalculable but I attempted to piece together the scant documentation I turned up during the investigation try to at least give closure to the families affected. It was a fool's errand but I had to try."

"Very rarely were the victims identified by name, and when they were it was always because they were a target of interest, a "special order" if you will, with a guaranteed buyer." 

Arthur stopped walking and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder stopping her as well. He turned to face her and met her eyes with a quiet intensity. 

"Harry, my name was on one of those lists."

"Yes, during the second task I was a target of opportunity, but the fact is they would have taken me with or without you. If you hadn't helped me escape I would have been kept indefinitely as I never manifested Veela powers and I wouldn't have been in any position to rescue my little sisters."

"I can't think of a worse hell to endure, so when I say I owe you my life and gratitude please accept my debt. I am being completely sincere."

"Angelus." Harry said brokenly. "All the evidence is pointing towards me being functionally immortal." 

"Eons from now when this world is dust it is very likely that I will remain. At that point I may decide to see if I can kill myself, it is a fascinating question from an academic perspective. 'Can a being that can theoretically kill anything, but is functionally unable to die kill themself?" 

She shook her head. "I don't know. But what I do know that if you sacrifice your life for mine in some misguided attempt to be even with me I will resurrect you just to slap the stupid out of your overly noble head."

"I acknowledge your gratitude but I cannot acknowledge your debt as such a thing cannot exist between family little brother." 

Harry smiled wryly. "Even if you are huge now you will always be my little Angelus."

Arthur gave Harry a deep formal bow.

"I am honored big sister. Which forms do you wish to observe?"

"I am unsure of the inns and outs of Veela matrilineal hierarchy." Harry frowned thoughtfully. "I think it would be best for you to contact your Enclave and certainly Fleur, I want to make sure she's ok with this before we do anything that can't be undone." 

"You worry too much big sister, Fleur will be thrilled." Arthur smiled widely. "Allow me to escort you big sister?"

"You aren't taking the piss are you? This isn't some new older sister hazing ritual is it?" Harry asked nervously.

Arthur just laughed and held out his crooked arm.

Harry groaned. "All right then. You lead because I have no idea where I am going!" 

Mephisto laughed lightly. "I believe that honor still belongs to me. Come along my little brothers and sister." He said as he waved his umbrella jauntily and resumed his place at the head of the procession.

Yukio walked next to Arthur. "Welcome to the family Angel-san. Amaimon-chan is rude, don't take it personally, he's actually quite decent once you get to know him. Shiemi-chan is sweet but fierce and absolutely adorable. Rin-chan is a total dork but he is very passionate and not afraid to fight for what he believes in. You already know Anuie and me reasonably well so there's not much to say there." 

"Arthur, you can call me by my first name Okumura-san." Arthur said with feeling.

"Then call me Yukio please." Yukio said with a smile.

"Yukio-chan let me introduce you to my partner Lewin." Arthur said formally.

Yukio looked confused. "I have met Sir Light before."

"Yukio, can I call you Yukio?" Upon receiving an affirmative nod Lewin continued. "Yukio, what Arthur means and is doing a piss poor job communicating is that we are partners outside of work as well."

"Ah! Let me congratulate you on your chosen mate. You are well suited Sir Light!" Yukio said with a smile.

Lewin returned his smile. "Thank you Yukio, and you can call me Lewin, after all it looks like we may be in-laws some day." 

Harry gasped. "You didn't mention you were married Angelus!"

Lewin laughed as Arthur groaned. "Not as of yet. Veela wedding rites are an ordeal. I don't blame Fleur for eloping but she's always been the rebellious wild child. There is no way I would get away with the same behavior."

"That's a shame." Harry said with feeling. "As the head of an Ancient and Noble house I could officiate any time you want."

Arthur shook his head. "Sadly I must pass on the offer unless I want to get lightly toasted everytime I visit home."

Lewin looked over to where Yukio was walking with a placid expression. "You seem to be handling all of this very well." 

Yukio shrugged. "I'm coping as best I can. I've had a few panic attacks recently, but mostly I have been stressed about the possibility of a confrontation with the two of you."

Lewin frowned. "I can see where you might feel intimidated by that possibility, our reputation does precede us and your work with the late Paladin has given you more exposure than most."

"That's not it. Not to sound arrogant but I am sure I could hold more than my own if it came down to a fight. You two, possibly Sir Redarm, and maybe Sensei Neuhaus if I didn't have time to prepare are probably the only ones that could actually be real challenge to fight....hmmm....oh, except for Anuie, but he's in a class of his own, it's a far reaching possibility that I could overpower him but it would be tantamount to suicide to try." 

Yukio sighed forcefully. 

"No, the issue, if you could even call it that, is I have been in the order since I was seven. As fucked up as the politics are, and while I don't agree with everything the order does, the order the last piece of Tou-san I have left. The idea of leaving for any reason is....painful. I don't doubt I can and probably will have to but....ah well." 

Yukio pushed his glasses up to sit more firmly on his nose. "It is what it is. I can't change who or what I am, and I refuse to hate myself for it anymore." 

"Well spoken Yukio-chan." Arthur said gravely as they artived at the cram school building.

Mephisto obligingly opened and held the door for his entourage.

"We shall check in on the Paiges and then rejoin the main group." Mephisto smiled beatifically. "I am certain they are climbing up the walls waiting for you to appear safe and whole."

Arthur snorted and waved for Mephisto to lead on.

They walked down the lavishly decorated hallway and came to a nondescript door. 

"Good afternoon my lovely students!" Mephisto entered the class room with his usual flair. "I apologize for your unusual schedule today...." He trailed off taking in the state of the room.

Desks were overturned and smashed. Various surfaces were splattered with gore and viscera. Ryuji and Konekomaru were slumped tiredly against each other in a well fortified corner while Rin perched on the top of a bookcase, swinging his legs back and forth merrily.

"I don't know what took you guys so long but you missed out!" Rin said excitedly. "We were hanging out waiting for class to start when this big rotten zombie looking thing."

"A Naberius." Ryuji interjected flatly.

"Yeah that thing! Anyway it jumped up from the floor, it was all slimy and gross! I totally panicked for a second but then I remembered what Harry said about magic being mostly about will power and stamina so I focused really hard on making it stay still. It stopped moving and Miwa-kun and Sugaro-kun recited verses until it disappeared."

Rin hopped down from the top of the bookcase and landed like a cat, balanced with his tail out, leaning forward slightly on the balls of his feet. Slinging the red bag containing the Kouma sword over one shoulder he continued talking excitedly. 

"It was totally sick! Then this big gross eyeball thing with a bunch of tentacles appeared."

"Beholder." Konekomaru supplied.

"So I pulled the same trick and these two totally sang a fatal verse. Like two part harmony and everything! Then we got swarmed by bunch of different shit." Rin lifted his shirt slightly to re-wrap his tail. 

"We'll provide you with a list later." Ryuji said yawning.

"So I had to get more aggressive because the guys were getting overwhelmed so I thought about making tiny explosions with my flames and it totally worked! I didn't have to draw the sword at all!" Rin smiled proudly his tail wiggling enthusiastically under his shirt.

"Nii-san that's fantastic!" Yukio was the first to overcome his shock quickly followed by Harry. 

Harry and Yukio gave Rin a brief hug that he happily basked in. 

"Let's make sure the boys are alright and clean up a smidge, yeah?" Harry asked conversationally.

Rin and Yukio followed Harry over and began to shift debris manually while Harry banished and levitated as needed to keep Ryuji and Konekomaru from being buried.  

While they worked on the far side of the room Mephisto rounded on Arthur with a snarl. 

"Absolutely unacceptable!" He hissed lowly through clenched fangs. 

"Your inspection team has endangered the life of three of my students. Presumably in an effort to accidentally eliminate the son of Satan, who, paradoxically was able to save the lives of the other two students and his own by virtue of the fact that he is the son of Satan." 

Mephisto bared his teeth in righteous rage.

"Please remind the Vatican that this academy is my domain and neutral ground. As such and for the safety of the children in my care any action of active or passive exorcism must be cleared by me personally as it is writ. I did not step in to reform the asylum only to have the Vatican attempt to usurp my authority whenever they see fit!" 

Mephisto methodically straightened his gloves and smoothed his lapels as he brought his temper under control. 

"I consider myself well acculturated to the ways of Assiah but I have a contractual obligation to the students of this fine institution that supersedes my loyalty to the order. Know now, if this is the action of the many and not the few, I will call a session for breach of contract and I will withdraw my support." 

"Un fucking believable." Lewin said, nearly as angry as Mephisto. "I say kick their asses directly into a holding cell in the keep and let me get to them after dinner."

"I authorize that action and any level of force required to see it through under my authority as Paladin."

Lewin nodded and stepped into the hallway to begin making phone calls.

"Excuse me but I believe I am needed to coordinate." Mephisto said as he followed Lewin into the hall.

Arthur was left alone standing in the shadow of the doorway, feeling thoroughly discomfited by the abhorrent actions of his comrades in arms. He rationalized that it was fair to see Paige Okumura as the manifestation of Satan in Assiah and assign him an appropriate threat level. But as he watched Rin hover anxiously over his classmates even that seemingly solid justification blew away like smoke.

There was no way to fake Rin's ernest concern or his genuine enthusiasm, he was as much as son of Satan as Yukio, which is to say, by accident of birth alone. Watching Rin shift restlessly, folding his arms together to keep his hands occupied while he had to wait, brought back a rush of memories.

Arthur could see Father Fujimoto's influence in Yukio's precise and calculated movements, his quiet intensity, his extreme ability to focus; just now, watching Rin was like seeing the man come back to life. Where Yukio had taken all of his father's teachings and applied them to make himself a stronger person, Rin simply mirrored his father's actions subconsciously until they became his own ingrained mannerisms." "There was no longer any doubt in his mind about the quality of Rin's heart. Starting forward to introduce himself he paused, considering the merits of disarming before approaching a group of presumably traumatized teenagers.

Wrapping his sword in his overcoat and propping it against the wall near the door he felt like he might look a little less threatening than usual. He calmly walked over to Rin who was on the fringe of the group watching Yukio doctor Ryuji and Konekomaru's numerous small wounds while Harry assisted with magic.

Coming up along side Rin he introduced himself with a smile and a bow which Rin returned with a confused expression.

"Hello, my name is Arthur. I'm an old friend of Harry's, we met at Hogwarts."

Rin's smile reappeared instantly, beaming out like the lone ray of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day. 

"She's told me some stuff about Hogwarts and it all sounds amazing! Were you a student there?"

"Technically I was enrolled at Beauxbatons but I was part of a program to promote international magical cooperation and was at Hogwarts for a year with some of my other classmates." 

"I wanted to introduce myself because I have already known your Otouto Yukio for a few years but I never had the chance to meet you. Then I found out today that my big sister Harry is alive and well...."

Run laughed. "Nee-san huh! So I have myself another Oniisan!"

Arthur laughed as well. "If you like, it does seem like you already have quite a few running around. We haven't made it official yet, I need to contact my Ma'man to make sure we do it properly but as far as I concerned she is my Nee-san in fact if not name."

Rin smiled. "It's ok I'm happy to call you Nii-san and the fact that you come from Harry's side is just a bonus because she's awesome so you are awesome by default!"

Arthur blushed. "Honestly, she's still more awesome than I am but I will try my best to live up to her standards."

"Don't we all, she kinda just, I donno, makes you want to do better."

Arthur nodded in agreement. 

"I see the other two getting treated but are you ok? I'm no doctor but I can check you over."

"I didn't want to say anything because the guys were banged up pretty good but that floating eyeball thing was really hard to hold down and it got me with some kind of energy beam." Rin tilted his head to show an angry red furrow running along the right side of his neck.

Arthur sucked in a breath at the wound that was centimeters away from being fatal and shoved down his rising panic.

"Harry, do I have your permission to cast?" Arthur called out in English. "Rin has a wound but it's within the scope of my abilities."

"Yes but let me see it first!" She called back. She made sure Ryuji and Konekomaru, who were asleep leaning on each other, were comfortable with conjured blankets, pillows and water glasses nearby before heading over to Rin with Yukio at her side.

Harry and Yukio looked at the wound while Rin obligingly turned this way and that.

"I don't feel any residual dark magic so you should be good to go." Harry said simply.

Arthur nodded and with a small flourish of his left hand produced his wand from his arm holster.

Harry gave him a questioning look he answered her unspoken question. "I wield Caliburn, which typically requires two hands but even so, I found it helped tremendously to learn to cast with my off hand and now it's become a habit." Arthur said by way of explanation.

Harry nodded in agreement. "Funny enough for being vicious bastards who look down on wand waving the goblins have a developed a surprising number of flourishes designed to hide off handed spellwork."

"Fascinating." Arthur muttered. "Deep breath Rin, this is going to feel strange."

"Adaugo Tergum." Arthur said firmly as passed his wand long ways along the edge of the scored flesh.

New skin bubbled up filling in the wide furrow until it resembled a deep gash.

A tense "Tergo" eradicated the blood that began welling up once the flesh was restored. 

"Consuo Consui Consutum." 

Arthur repeated the chant rhythmically as he made short concise motions with the tip of his wand. The skin sealed together in the wake of his movements and as he reached the top of the wound he sketched a small glyph with the tip of his wand and murmured "Contego."

"There." He sighed. "All done."

Arthur started slightly as Harry hugged him. "Fantastic wand work Angelus, thank you!"

He then jumped again as Rin hugged him as soon as Harry stepped back. 

"Thanks so much Nii-san, it feels a million times better. Yuki-chan has always had to patch me up in the past but I figure between the two of you, you guys can pretty much fix anything."

Arthur exchanged a troubled look with Yukio that told him that Yukio was exquisitely aware of exactly how close the disintegration wound was to Rin's right carotid artery.

Arthur patted Rin's back absently trying to think of the best way to address the issue. He knew that "be more careful" was absolutely useless advice all things considered.

"Rin, I see that you carry a sword. Is anyone training you to wield it properly?" Arthur asked gently.

Rin blushed and stammered. "Ah well, no not really."

Harry interjected helpfully. "I was going to show him some basic forms but my single handed rapier style isn't well suited for training someone on a two handed sword." 

"Rin, I fight with a two handed sword and as a ranked knight I am allowed to take on an apprentice." Arthur said carefully. "If you would like to learn I would be happy to take you on as my apprentice and teach you how to use your sword."

Rin's expression rapidly cycled between shocked and happy. 

"Really!? Yuki-chan, Harry-chan what do you think?"

"I think you have yourself a Sensei Rin, you should go for it! You can't get much better than Angelus as a swordmaster." Harry said cheerfully. 

Yukio was too overcome with emotion to say anything and settled for nodding his head yes.

"Yes please Nii-san! I really appreciate it!"

Arthur nodded and turned to Harry. "Blood pact would probably be safest as it's insoluble. I don't have any conflicting oaths right now so we should probably do this quickly."

Harry nodded. "Rin this is a little like what Shiemi and I did just not as permanent. Angelus will tell you everything that he will do for you as your teacher, you accept him as your teacher and tell him what you will do as his student, the typical thing is to listen and learn to the best of your ability and the contract is fulfilled when he no longer has anything to teach you. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Ah, yes but what if things go wrong and we have to leave?" Rin asked nervously.

"I would still teach you. Magic makes it possible to work around things that would normally be obstacles." Arthur said reassuringly.

"Ok." Rin nodded and squared his shoulders. 

Arthur conjured small blades that were different from what Harry had conjured with Shiemi but were still effective. He and Rin cut their palms shallowly and clasped right hands.

"I Arthur Augustus Angel Delacour, Swordmaster, Knight and current Paladin of The Order of The True Cross do hereby accept Rin Okumura, son of Father Shiro Fujimoto, Prince of Gehenna and Paige of The Order of The True Cross as my apprentice in the art of the sword and any thing else he wishes to learn by my hand. I extended to him the protection of my person and my clan. I name him Imouto for as long as he should wish it."

Rin shook slightly but when he spoke his voice came out clearly. "I Rin Okumura, son of Father Shiro Fujimoto, Prince of Gehenna and Paige of The Order of The True Cross accept Arthur Augustus Angel Delacour, Swordmaster, Knight and current Paladin of The Order of The True Cross as my sensei in the art of the sword and anything else I chose to learn from him. I swear to work hard and learn to the best of my ability. I accept him as my Oniisan for as long as he shall have me."

They held on a moment longer before affirming "So I have said so shall it be." in unison.

The solemn atmosphere was interrupted by Harry's voice.

"I will be right back." Harry informed them as she stepped out into the hall.

Yukio sighed as she shut the door allowing himself slide down against the wall to sit on the floor in a relatively clean spot. He was feeling a little faint but was focused on trying to keep his breathing steady and deep.

Arthur crouched next him. "Yukio are you alright?" 

Yukio flipped his hand to indicate maybe as he pulled his knees up to his chest. Arthur sat carefully beside him and when he felt Yukio lean against him he extended an arm and pulled him close.

"This happens sometimes." Rin said quietly as he kneeled in front of them. "Yuki-chan takes on a tremendous amount of responsibility and manages to function somehow. We have a very close bond as twins and sometimes if I'm stressed as well it pushes him too far."

"It's alright. Everyone has a point where they need to be able to withdraw." Arthur spoke with authority. "I have seen Yukio push through as the situation demanded many times in the field with your Otosan. He needs to learn to let things go when has down time but from the sound of it there hasn't been much of that lately."

Rin laughed nervously. "That is the truth. We were pretty convinced that you and your partner were being dispatched to execute us. I didn't realize you were the Paladin when you introduced yourself and I'm kind of glad because we got to talk first. I wasn't scared of you by the time we took the oath."

"I'm glad you aren't scared of me now." Arthur frowned deeply. "I was not given any specific orders regarding you and Yukio other than to share my opinion of you both if we happened to meet, but I am beginning to wonder about the team that accompanied us. It seems fairly obvious that they were trying to cause you serious bodily harm. If the wound you sustained had been a few centimeters deeper it would have been fatal."

Yukio stirred and croaked out raspily. "You nearly died and I didn't even have a clue because all I could feel was how happy you were to spend time with Suguro-kun and Miwa-kun."

"Shit Yukio, I'm sorry. It was a split second where it managed to move it's tentacle thingies some; I'm pretty sure that freaky eyeball thing had it's own magic. Holding in down was like trying to hammer gelatin to the wall, it just kept...wiggling through until I practically flattened it out of sheer frustration. I didn't even know I was hurt until I jumped down off the shelf and even then I could hardly feel it unless I turned my head."

"It was a disintegration spell that grazed your neck. You didn't feel it because there was literally nothing to feel." Arthur explained clinically. "The skin, the nerves, capillaries and blood vessels, all of it just gone. You had peripheral nerves that registered something was wrong but because the edges of the wound were finely cauterized it's amazing that you felt it at all."

Rin gaped. "Wow, that sounds really bad." 

"It was Nii-san. Next time please just draw your sword." Yukio's voice came out sounding small and broken. "Until Anuie adjusts the seal on the Kouma sword your demonic abilities, such as resilience and healing, are greatly reduced when the sword is sheathed. Please don't get killed, I don't think I could bear it." 

Rin leaned forward to hug Yukio and Arthur casually adjusted to embrace them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much feels in this one. Poor Yukio, he's gonna have a heart attack before he's 20.
> 
>  
> 
> Translation notes:
> 
> adaugeo :   to make greater, add, increase 
> 
> Tergum: Skin, hide
> 
> consuo consui consutum :   to sew together, stitch. 
> 
> contego :   to cover, shield, protect, defend


	19. The Magical Mystery Detour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mephisto takes a slight detour to pick up takeout and a special guest shows up in time to quaff wine and disrupt everyone's lunch.

Harry shut the door quietly and nearly laughed as she looked up.

Almost the entire team of exorcists that had been assigned to Angel were neatly hogtied, deafened, blindfolded and gagged with obnoxiously pink polka dot ribbons. They occupied the floor on one side of the hallway, all lined up neatly in a row along the wall.

Mephisto leaned against the opposite wall staring off into the middle distance with a with a bored expression on his face, while Lewin worked his way through a cartoonishly oversized box of strawberry pocky.

Lewin shook the box at Harry as she came over to stand next to him."This stuff is excellent, want some?" 

"Ta!"

Harry plucked a pocky stick from the box and looked it over with a critical eye. She decided it resembled a pink frosted hard breadstick and even though it smelled pleasantly fruity she braced herself for disappointment.

As the strawberry flavor crept across her palate Harry was suprised to find the cookie stick wasn't overly sweet or dry. "Mmmmmm" she hummed appreciatively as she chewed.

Lewin mumbled around his own mouthful. "I know right!?! I fucking love Japan!"

Mephisto huffed irritably.

Studying his the tense lines of Mephisto's body in profile, Harry carefully nibbled some of the strawberry frosting off the side of her pocky stick. "What's the holdup?"

Lewin shrugged. "Waiting for someone from surveillance in another region to come and take an unbiased report. The Vatican Main Office won't let Mephisto use his own people because they are concerned there may be a conflict of interests."

Lewin took another bite of his pocky and made a happy sound. "So how are the kiddos?"

"Glasses and skunk stripe are fine but totally knackered. Yukio and I patched them up and by the time I conjured blankets and pillows they were asleep."

"Rin on the other hand got very, very lucky. Angelus took it upon himself to look him over because he noticed Rin was holding back while the others got care."

Harry crossed her arms and tapped the remaining length of pocky stick against her lips as she cast a sidelong glance at Mephisto. 

"He took a glancing hit from a Beholder's disintegration ray. A few centimeters deeper and it would have opened his right carotid artery."

"He had no idea how close he came to dying. Angelus is a dab hand with a wand and healed him up well enough that he shouldn't have any issues. I'm fairly sure they are both talking Yukio through a panic attack right now."

Harry and Lewin watched curiously as Mephisto smoothly detached himself from his spot against the wall. He casually stalked down the row of detained exorcists coming to a stop in front of a portly man with shaggy blond hair and a goatee. 

Mephisto contemplated his slightly squirming form and quiet sounds of distress through narrowed eyes for a moment before he calmly pressed his foot down on the Tamer's chest. Ignoring the muffled screams of pain, he patiently increased his pressure until with a wet crunch, the resistance below his boot gave way. He then turned away without a second glance and returned to his earlier spot lounging against the wall.

Lewin and Harry exchanged looks of calm acceptance in the face of Mephisto's coldly executed revenge. Shrugging by way of apology for not caring more, Lewin shook the pocky box at Harry again. "Take a few more before I kill 'em. These things are totally addictive."

Harry chuckled and took two more, crunching through them happily. "I can see how these could get you hooked, they are absolutely scrummy! Anyway, Angelus just took Rin on as his blood bonded apprentice. The terms were very much in Rin's favor; Angelus has extended his personal and clan protection as well as named Rin brother."

"It's about time! The Vatican has been up his ass recently to pick someone to teach so this is perfect. The fact that he picked Rin is going to piss them off but they never gave him any guidelines or recommendations so they can't really bitch about who he picked so long as he picked someone."

Harry chuckled. "Too right! Anyway, I think they will be good for each other; they both have a strong sense of justice and a firm moral code. I get the impression that Rin is an eager student when it's not book learning and Angelus won't overwhelm him with a lot of theoretical crap."

"Ah shit." Lewin groaned. "This means I gotta get an apprentice too. What was that skunk stripe kid's name again?"

"Sugaro Ryuji." Mephisto said flatly.

"Yeah, Ryuji. What do you think Mephisto?" Lewin asked teasingly.

"I think he's far to good for the likes of you and would only approve the pairing if you treat him seriously. He is *not* a sacrificial pawn."

Lewin sobered immediately. 

"Hey I know I come off like a slovenly asshole but you have to admit that Arthur is uptight enough for the both of us. Could you imagine if we were both spit shined and put together?"

Mephisto snorted involuntary at the mental image. "I concede the point. It would drive Arthur's meticulously crafted public persona to new heights of obnoxiousness."

"We would literally kill each other over closet space."

"But in all seriousness, I am not such a lazy asshole that I would give my apprentice less than a stellar education. It may take a few years, but the whole point is to raise someone up that can step into my spot if I get fragged in the line of duty, and right now I'm the only one that does what I do."

Mephisto countered. "Be that as it may, why Sugaro Ryuji, why not one of the other Paiges or Exwires?"

"I can't really say other than Harry suggested him, he fought like a hell cat in there, and I have a good feeling about it."

"Of course I would like to talk to him and see if we get along." Lewin gestured to Mephisto with the box of pocky offering him the last stick.

Mephisto took the giant pocky and popped the end of it in his mouth leaving Lewin with the box. Lewin handed it to Harry who promptly banished it.

"Mephisto?" Lewin waited until Mephisto 'mmmmhmmed' that he was listening despite the fact he appeared to be fully engaged in the act of licking the frosting off the end of his pocky.

"I'm not gonna divide your house. If things don't work out with Ryuji or you don't approve I won't take an apprentice. None of the other Paiges have the drive to make the kind of commitment an apprenticeship needs and I don't think that any of the upperclassman Exwires can be trusted around the twins."

Lewin put his hands in his pockets and looked down at his shoes. "Also consider this, if I take Ryuji as an apprentice you won't be losing a game piece so much as you will be gaining me independent of Arthur, which will give us a lot more wiggle room to get around the Vatican's bullshit."

Mephisto methodically crunched through the rest of his pocky stick with narrowed eyes. 

"You make a strong argument and I am inclined to see things your way." He sighed. "Very well. Talk to Sugaro-kun, if he is amicable to the idea then you may proceed, provided his oath to you does not conflict with his commitment to Rin and Yukio. It would crush them to lose his friendship at this point."

"Excellent." Harry clapped her hands. "Will these assholes keep? We should go back in and see about rallying everyone for tea."

Mephisto stepped away from the wall and flourished his umbrella in a seemingly haphazard manner.

EINS, ZWEI, DREI! Snap! POOF!

"They are secure in an out of the way section of the labyrinth until such time as an excorcist from surveillance arrives. Shall we?" Mephisto said as he pulled the door open.

Walking into the classroom Mephisto stopped dead in the middle of the doorway trying to comprehend the sight of a less than immaculately dressed Arthur Angel being napped on by both the Okumura twins. Yukio was curled into his left side while Rin was practically sitting in his lap. Arthur himself had his head tilted back against the wall and appeared to be dozing.

Harry silently came up along side Mephisto. "I know how to develop wizard photos from pensive memories." She whispered in his ear.

"You are a lovely wicked creature." Mephisto whispered back with a toothy grin.

Lewin chuckled. "Make sure you get me a picture too! In the meantime, let me wake him so we don't accidentally startle the twins."

Lewin padded up to Arthur and gently shook his shoulder. "Sunshine, Angel, wake up. We need to feed the kids, it's lunch time."

Arthur shifted and yawned. "Yes, all right. Yukio, Rin let's go get lunch, Mephisto's buying."

"I said no such thing!" In his outrage Mephisto's voice jumped an octave. 

Rin whined "Anuie, quit bein' a cheapskate!"

Yukio jerked awake as soon as he heard Rin's voice. "Hmmmmm oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you!"

"No worries Yukio-chan. Just help us get Sugaro-kun and Miwa-kun motivated and we will call it even."

Rin snorted at the fact that Yukio didn't complain about their newest Oniisan's nick name for him as he busied himself straightening his clothes and securing the Kouma sword over his shoulders.

Oblivious to his Nii-san's amusement, Yukio stretched and rubbed his eyes. He cleaning his glasses absently on his shirt tails he walked over to where the other two boys were napping in their nest of blankets.

"Hey Sugaro-kun, Miwa-kun, wake up." He said yawning as he shook Ryuji's foot gently. "We are going to get lunch."

Ryuji groaned. "Food sounds wonderful, I'm starving. Com'on Koneko, wake up."

Yukio helped them both to their feet while Harry banished her conjurations. Mephisto used his personal key on the door and held it open patiently while everyone shuffled through before walking through and shutting the door behind him.

Mephisto stopped consideringly before turning to use his key on the door once more. A few seconds later he stepped back through looking satisfied.

"I went back and warded the class room so no one can tamper with the evidence while we are gone." He said by way of explanation. 

"I also took the liberty of popping back briefly to place a takeout order, it's nothing elaborate but it should prove to be satisfying."

He led the shuffling procession to a dining room that looked nothing like the intimate elegance of the previous Sunday.

This room was light and airy with large arched windows overlooking the extensive grounds. The table and chairs had a rough hewn charm and were laid with simple stone ware that clashed horribly with the massive golden platters that dominated the tabletop.

Mephisto took the seat at the head of the table and poured himself a flagon of dark bock from a communal pitcher. 

"Serve yourselves, this is to be an informal setting."

Everyone shuffled around and mumbling about the ridiculous amount of food. It didn't take long to sort out the seating and to load their plates with hearty portions.

Mephisto lustily drank a measure of his beer and reached for a platter of sausages. Slicing a few of them with quick strokes of his knife, he sprinkled them liberally with curry powder and set into them ravenously.

Harry made appreciative sounds around her own mouthful. "The chipolatas and mash are divine! I haven't had comfort food like this since my last year at Hogwarts!"

"That was rather the point my dear; by the way the Hogwarts house elves send their most enthusiastic regards." 

Mephisto tipped his flagon in Harry's direction as she promptly choked on her food.

Coughing and sputtering she gulped down her own beer until she got her breathing back under control.

"You didn't!?" She gasped as she slammed down her flagon.

"Hmmmmm but I did." Mephisto replied in a bored sounding drawl.

Harry gave Mephisto an incredulous look. "You just popped in and said 'hello can you make me a lunch for eight, ta!"

Mephisto smirked.

"Actually I enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the entrance hall where I caught up with an old acquaintance of mine, you may know of him as Peeves. Once we finished catching up in front of the grand staircase I took the stairs down to the right, molested the pear in the painting at the end of the hall, introduced myself by name and *then* asked for lunch for Harry Potter and a party of seven."

"I explained that you had been recently recovered from limbo and you were homesick for the marvelous cooking of the Hogwarts house elves. I then watched with no little amusement as they collectively went into paroxysms of joy before abandoning all pretense of cooking for the main hall. They immediately diverted their attentions to remembering and recreating every dish you ever said you remotely enjoyed."

"Treacle tart!?!" Harry stood and surveyed the table before spotting Mephisto levitating a covered dessert dish which he then disappeared with a pop.

"For after's, now sit and eat your lunch like a good girl." Mephisto said wickedly.

"I hate you so much right now." Harry grumbled into her food which only succeeded in making Mephisto smile wider.

"This is all rather good." Arthur said in between bites of a flakey slice of beef Wellington. "I remember the food at Hogwarts as being decent if a bit heavy but this is quite nice."

A mumbled sound of agreement carried around the table in a wave. Ryuji and Konekomaru were splitting a dish of shepherd's pie and marvelling at the rich flavor. Lewin was on his second American style bacon cheeseburger.

Rin was especially happy with a rare slab of well marbled steak while Yukio meandered through a tureen of chicken tikka masala.

"So other than Peeves did you run into anyone interesting?" Harry asked in between bites.

"No, but you know how portraits love to gossip. Inevitably Albus will hear that I dropped by and then he will fire call our mutual acquaintance Nicolas who is thankfully not a luddite like the rest of the wizards of his age so I expect he will ring my mobile right about now." Suddenly a cheerful ringtone chimed out. "Ah, yes. Right on time!"

Mephisto flipped his phone open with one hand while he held his beer with his other.

"Ah! Nicolas bonjour!"

Mephisto leaned back and sipped from his beer with a self satisfied look on his face as he listened to rapid fire French before interjecting. 

"Nicolas you called me, not the other way around. You know the rules, Japanese please or I'm hanging up!"

Mephisto held his finger to lips for silence and then engaged the speaker phone. Suddenly an unfamiliar voice sounded out in the middle of a rant. ".....and then without a by your leave you German piece of shit!"

"Yes, yes Nicolas I know you love me underneath that thin veneer of hatred but I'm sorry you are going to have repeat yourself entirely from the beginning because the moment I heard you speak I stopped listening."

"Johann you are a pain but I need information so I will condescend to playing your ridiculous game. Listen this time damn you!"

"Mmmmm hmmm, I'm listening right now."

"Fine you ass! Albus just called with some wild tale of you wandering about Hogwarts...."

"I didn't wander Nicolas, I know how to get to the kitchens directly from the front hall, it's not exactly an expedition."

Nicolas sucked in a shocked breath that carried clearly through the phone. 

"So it's true!" Nicolas said in tremulous voice.

"What precisely are you referring to?" Mephisto asked with feigned nonchalance while he winked at the group gathered around the table.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU OPAQUE PUDDLE OF PIG SHIT!? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TOLD THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF HOUSE ELVES AT HOGWARTS THAT HARRY POTTER IS ALIVE YOU TWAT!"

Even with the phone levitating several feet in the air everyone felt slightly deafened.

Mephisto's smile widened.

"Now, now Nicolas, was it really necessary to use an amplification charm? After all, unlike you I have exceptional hearing. To answer the question that you haven't actually asked, I told the house elves that she had been recently recovered from limbo and had a craving for Hogwarts food. If you are going to quote me Nicolas, quote me correctly at least."

"Also please consider the ramifications of the fact that I didn't have to tell the house elves that she was alive because just like the goblins, they knew she wasn't dead in the first place. Now ask yourself, what is Albus trying to hide?"

".....I don't believe you. What you are implying goes beyond the pale! Albus would never allow a child under his care to be subjected to such hardship!"

Mephisto heaved a put upon sigh. "I understand that you have a long standing friendship with your former apprentice and this is a difficult discussion to have over the phone. I am not, for once, sewing the seeds of doubt and confusion for my own entertainment. I genuinely want to right a wrong. If it makes you feel better Arthur Delacour is sitting here with me right now. They were close friends and he has been able to vouch that she is indeed Harry Potter."

"Delacour is there? The Veela boy?"

"Yes Nicolas, recall Fawkes and pop in but be warned if you bring Albus with you he will make a lovely splatter shape on my wards."

"Unbelievable! Merlin you are such a brat!"

"Yes, now get your ancient ass over here!"

Mephisto snapped his phone shut. "Places everyone! Remember Johann or Headmaster, Rin and Yukio are my adopted nephews and no mention of Amaimon, please and thank you!"

Mephisto had just wrapped his speech and summoned a decanter of elf wine and a few pieces of airy stemware when a fireball appeared in the far side of the room.

The flames quickly resolved to show a willowy man with short white hair who had an absolutely furious expression on his face.

"Fawkes!" Harry jumped out of her seat with a joyful cry and was promptly knocked over by a warbling ball of feathers in shades of red and gold.

Harry lay on the floor laughing as a bird that resembled a terrifyingly overgrown swan crossed with a pheasant in sunset colors mauled her hair and cooed sweet nothings in her ear.

"You are still a terrible flirt!" She pet his chest affectionately. "Up you get fatso! I know you are only being heavy because you don't want me to move but if you let me up you can sit in my lap while I feed you yeah?"

Fawkes suddenly became light as a feather and Harry lifted him easily as she got her feet underneath her. 

"Headmaster, can I have some fresh fruit for my friend?" She asked sweetly.

"Certainly my dear." Mephisto checked a dish near his end of the table. "Are grapes sufficient or should I send for something else?"

"Oh no, grapes are his favorite, especially peeled. I'm sure I remember how to do it Sir."

Mephisto sent the dish down to Harry who began wandlessly peeling the grapes and feeding them to the blissfully happy phoenix one at a time by hand.

"Merde!"

Nicolas' quiet exclamation got drew everyone's attention away from the spectacle of Harry and Fawkes.

"Ah! Everyone let me introduce my old friend Nicolas Flamel the rather famous alchemist." Nicolas gave the group a slight bow that was returned respectfully.

Mephisto smiled dangerously. "Nicolas, you already seem acquainted with the Lady Potter so I will move on to other introductions. Directly next to the Lady Potter is my nephew Yukio and next to him my nephew Rin. Next to Rin you may recognize Arthur Delacour."

"It has been a while Arthur, very nice to see you, you look well."

"Likewise Nicolas." Arthur responded smoothly.

"Across from Arthur is his partner Lewin Light. Next to Lewin is Lewin's prospective apprentice Ryuji Suguro, heir apparent to a rather important temple in Kyoto, and next to Ryuji is Konekomaru Miwa, Ryuji's majordomo in training."

"Now Nicolas, down to business. As you can see for yourself the Lady Potter is very much alive. What is your take on the situation thus far."

Nicolas sighed as he sank into the unoccupied chair between Konekomaru and Mephisto. He accepted a delicate glass of elf wine and promptly knocked it back before holding it out for Mephisto to refill.

"Merde! Complete and total shit! I have known Albus for a long time and I thought we had patched things up well enough for him to have learned from his last monumental fuck up."

Harry smiled winningly over the top of Fawkes' head. "You mean when I prevented my possessed teacher from obtaining your phylactery and returned it to you undamaged."

Nicolas coughed uncomfortably. "Yes child, thank you for that act of kindness. If the stone had been damaged in any way my wife and I would have perished soon after."

"It was no difficulty, the stone was yours and the right thing to do was return it to you." 

Harry affected a slightly concerned tone. "I always wondered why Headmaster Dumbledore had it in the first place and what he thought he could accomplish by baiting a malevolent shade into a school full of children." 

Mephisto laid an elegantly gloved finger alongside his cheek. "Yes, as a matter of professional interest, as I am a headmaster of a rather prodigious school myself, I can't help but wonder why? I mean the liability issues alone......granted we are not so segregated that we can simply ignore the concerns of non magical parents and we do not have the buffer of a stagnating magical society to indoctrinate our magical parents into blind followership. So I suppose in the long run any comparison would be like apples to oranges."

Nicolas leaned back thoughtfully. "You really have that many magical students that you think a comparison is relevant?"

"Wand waving is a fairly unpopular practice in this part of the world despite it's dominance at Mahoutokoro. Many practitioners here use family artifacts to channel their abilities if they even need a focus at all. Magic is more widely accepted by the non magical portions of our society so not everyone is keen to cut ties with the non magical world. My acadamy is an important middle ground between the wholly magical and thre mundane, providing a top notch mainstream academic education as well as studies in the esoteric arts."

"In regards to the magical students of this fine institution, both of my nephews are reasonably adept at wandless magic as well as elemental fire conjuration. Sugaro-kun and Miwa-kun are trained to use chants and cadences to conjure shields and other defenses wandlessly. I think you will agree with me when I say that those are magical abilities far beyond what is currently being taught at Hogwarts, and they are first year students with only minimal home schooling."

"That is impressive Johann, I had no idea you were so involved with the shaping of young magicals."

"Nicolas, you give me far too much credit! I am mearly a humble administrator. I occupy a space in the grand scheme of things but the credit goes to my excellent teachers; the impact that Mr. Delacour, Mr. Light and their colleagues have had on the young minds in their care cannot be overstated, they are true virtuosos in their fields!"

"I am familiar with Arthur's accomplishments but what do you bring to the table as a teacher Mr. Light."

Lewin smiled crookedly. "I am an elementalist Mr. Flamel."

"Yes, but which element?"

Lewin's smile broadened. "Why all of them of course, but I do confess I am rather fond of summoning lightning."

Nicolas paled and then turned to Mephisto. "Touché." he said and then drained his glass the second time.

"Come now Nicolas, it's not my fault the ICW habitually disregards Japanese magical society as a whole. I understand that they really only approve of Mahoutokoro because it is completely segregated but I have to say that we are doing quite splendidly without their oversight or antiquated ideals."

"In fact we we are uniquely positioned here to continue the Lady Potter's formal education and have taken such steps as are necessary to enroll her as a student."

Nicolas sighed. 

"I hate to say this Johann but I am convinced. What do you think I should do to avoid the oncoming shit storm?" 

"Nicolas, I would never presume to tell you what to do old friend. Instead let me tell you what I know about the events leading up to now so you can form your own plan of action, as long as that is agreeable with the Lady Potter?"

Harry gave Mephisto a beautific smile. 

"I trust you implicitly Headmaster Faust, share whatever you feel is relevant."

Mephisto nodded. "The abridged version of this sorrowful tale starts when you contacted me on Albus' behalf shortly after the events of the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. Did Albus ever tell you why he called on me?"

"Non, he was his usually vague self."

Mephisto tutted. 

"Pity, I am sure you would have stopped this before it got out of hand. As you know I am not of entirely human heritage."

Nicolas nodded and Mephisto continued. 

"An issue that comes up occasionally is that I am unable to speak plainly about certain truths that have been entrusted to me. The Lady Potter has kindly given her permission to discuss her story frankly and where I am restricted she and Arthur should be able to fill in."

"In short, Albus wished for me to consult on a certain number of artifacts to verify if they were authentic and if they would enable the bearer to survive certain death."

"These certain artifacts were in the possession of the Lady Potter and after affirming yes to both questions I assumed Albus would take custodial guardianship of said artifacts as they were extremely dangerous to the wielder. I also assumed he consulted with me simply to ascertain whether or not he should confiscate them."

"Lady Potter, at anytime did your Headmaster at Hogwarts caution you or ask you hide away those artifacts?"

Harry spoke coldly. "Actually the opposite happened Headmaster Faust. Headmaster Dumbledore encouraged me to wear them on my person at all times."

"Can you describe to me what happened at Malfoy Manor?" Mephisto asked directly.

"I had been living with the Granger family but the Ministry of Magic found them to be unfit guardians because they were non magical people. Headmaster Dumbledore acting in loco parentis, encouraged me to go peacefully with the Ministries appointment of temporary custody to Malfoy family, assuring me that he was working on obtaining my freedom. He sold me on the idea that being a fellow Slytherin would trump any potential animosity towards me for being the "girl who lived"."

Harry took a deep shuddering breath. 

"It turned out that Voldemort was staying at Malfoy manor and I was being walked into a trap. I was disarmed and Voldemort used the killing curse on me for the second time but like the first time I didn't die. It is important to know that I retained the ability to call the sword of Godric Gryffindor after I slayed Salazar Slytherin's basilisk underneath Hogwarts in my second year."

"I stumbled when the killing curse connected and it startled me so badly that I summoned the sword of Godric Gryffindor through Voldemort's neck killing him instantly as I had already destroyed his soul anchors under Dumbledore's guidance."

"I remember someone casting fiendfyre and then the rest of it is a blur as I was trying to gain control of the fire to stop it."

Nicolas was hanging on the edge of his seat. "Are you also a fire elemental?"

Rather than answering verbally Harry burst into brilliant blue flames while Fawkes joyfully sang and sympathetically displayed his own white gold flames. Where the the flames overlapped an eerie green glow became apparent.

Slowly Harry let the flames die down with Fawkes obediently following suit until the glow was completely gone and he began nudging her hand for another grape.

Harry obediently peeled one and let him pick it daintily from her fingers. 

"I was exhausted and devastated. I managed to subdue the fire before the entire structure was lost but I wasn't fast enough to save anyone. Distraught, I apparated to Longbottom manor. Lord Longbottom informed me that the Grangers we scheduled for obliviation and reassignment. Against his wishes I apparated to the Ministry directly to try to put a stop to the process. When I entered the atrium I was hit with a petrification charm from behind and carried to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"I was kept under the petrification charm and was not permitted any means of communication. I was accused of setting the Malfoy manor ablaze and charged with mass murder. I was sentenced to immediate execution and carried to the Department of Mysteries where they chucked me through the veil in the death room. I have been alive, but trapped in limbo, for the last 15 years."

Nicholas ran a hand slowly over his face and through his short hair. "Were those certain artifacts perhaps an unbeatable wand, a perfect invisibility cloak and a stone that recalls the spirits of the dead?"

Mephisto nodded fractionally.

"Putain de bordel de merde!" Nicolas yelled slamming his wineglass down hard enough to crack the stem.

Arthur spoke up up from across the table. "It gets worse Nicolas. Perhaps you remember the fate that befell young Lord Longbottom?"

"Yes, he was abducted and tortured before he was recovered by the DMLE. It was very tragic that he shared the same fate as his parents."

"Yes tragic that the same exact people who illegally executed Lady Potter, however botched, also managed to lose an underage Lord that they were the security detail for and just as miraculously recover him on the brink of death but with irreparable brain damage." Arthur crossed his arms angrily. "Such a tragedy that the last person to see the Lady Potter alive was silenced so violently."

Mephisto picked up the thread of the conversation directly on the tail end of Arthur's revelation. 

"Now dear Nicolas the question I have for you is three fold; who pulled the strings on the investigation into Malfoy Manor, who was it that pushed for the missing persons case to be closed despite the lack of physical evidence to suggest that Lady Potter was killed and who was the only person who would have known for sure, aside from Lord Longbottom, that the Lady Potter survived?"

Nicolas cleared his throat. "Albus." he said roughly.

Mephisto leaned back in his seat with an inscrutable expression on his face.

Nicolas turned towards Harry. "Do you still have the artifacts?"

Harry nodded hesitantly.

"Good." Nicolas breathed out a sigh of relief. "We may be able to isolate the influence of the hallows to limit the curse."

"I appreciate the sentiment but I don't think that's possible anymore."

Mephisto spoke over Nicholas' protest. "If you don't think it would be too painful you can show everyone what you showed me earlier. I don't think anyone here would overreact." 

Mephisto eyed the exorcists and trainees to make sure they understood his warning and received a series of subtle nods.

Harry stood placing Fawkes in the seat she had vacated. "I can try Headmaster."

She walked away from the table and pulled the sweater vest over her head dropping it to the floor. The tie and blouse quickly followed until she stood silently in just her bra from the waist up.

She closed her eyes in concentration and gasped when she started to shift. The feeling of venom in her veins being replaced by fire was just as intense as the first time she changed. She literally felt like she was dying only to be reborn into a new shape. She kept her eyes closed at first but when the silence became too great she finally ventured a peek.

Looking at the table Harry could see the whispy white lines fading into the distance that bound Nicolas to his stone. Mephisto shone as brilliantly as before, his soul a searing white. Looking at Yukio and Rin was like looking into the sun, Harry found herself blinking away the after image they burned into her retinas. Arthur was strongly connected to Caliburn and Lewin. Lewin had lines tracing out from everywhere making him look like a shiny hedgehog. Both Ryuji and Konekomaru were clear and bright.

Suddenly a brilliant white fireball flew directly at her. She held her hands up defensively but only succeeded in catching Fawkes as he slammed into her enthusiastically. 

In this form she was unable to see the outline of Fawkes' body the way she could with the others. It wasn't that he was shining all that much brighter or stronger it was that he literally seemed to have no beginning and no end. 

"How very much like the anomaly of the resurrection stone." She thought to herself, no sooner than she had let the words drift across her mind then Fawkes pressed himself against the stone that throbbed and beat along with her heart. 

In a flash Harry was consumed in silvery white gold flames and in a daze she recognized that if it wasn't for her more resilient demon body she would be screaming in pain. 

Fawkes cheerfully self immolated against her chest until he was a small wizened chick cradled gently in her hands.

Harry took a few breaths and  focused on drawing back into her human body while letting go of her demonic traits. The pain slammed into her all at once and Yukio and Rin were at her side before she could even draw enough breath to gasp. 

Yukio had taken off his jacket and draped it over Harry's shoulders while he cradled her and the newly reborn Fawkes against his chest. She shivered in pain and cried into Yukio's shirt while Rin embraced her from behind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna beat this Dumbledore piñata until the sherbet lemons pour out his fractured kneecaps.
> 
> MAKE IT RAIN LEMON PAIN!
> 
> Yeah.
> 
> Whew. Man. 
> 
> The universe did NOT want me to edit this chapter! Every time I thought I had a few minutes of quiet time something came up.
> 
> The last few days have felt like a perpetual garbage fire:
> 
> I was almost done at one point and then my chrome app crashed.
> 
> I had just reopened the draft when I almost dropped my phone and while catching it I accidentally hit the post without preview.
> 
> I fell asleep with the phone on my face and woke up to a screen full of gibberish (thankfully I didn't hit save in my sleep!).
> 
> In short, goddammit stupid fucking chapter 19 ARRRRGH!
> 
> (#`皿´)
> 
> Why you piss me off so bad!?!?!?!
> 
>  
> 
> Translation notes:
> 
> Putain de bordel de merde ! : Fucking whorehouse of shit!


	20. Born Of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore's fine name takes the first step towards being synonymous with excrement as Nicolas finally comes to a decision.
> 
> Fawkes fucks up big time and Mephisto gives him a thorough kinetic recalibration.
> 
> Harry is confused by something obvious and Mephisto wonders "What exactly do they teach kids these days?"

"Uncle." Yukio said through clenched teeth. "That was significantly painful for Harry-chan."

"My apologies nephew, I will keep that in mind in the future."

Yukio nodded tersely as he guided Harry carefully back towards the table. Her tears had lessened slightly but she didn't hesitate to climb into Yukio's lap as soon as he sat down. He tightened his arms aound her and focused on holding her securely through the worst of her tremors.

Nicolas gave Yukio an odd look when he caught sight of his shoulder holster. Yukio returned his look levelly, almost daring the hoary headed alchemist to say something out of line.

Nicolas shook his head and sighed wistfully. "Ah, the flush of new love." Coughing lightly he redirected himself. 

"The additional form that Lady Potter has taken is beautiful but I don't think the effects of the hallows are at all reversible." 

"That was also my conclusion as well Nicolas." Mephisto said plainly. "What can be done?"

"Justice." Arthur spoke quietly. "The truth needs to be revealed."

"Wizarding Britain will simply shove their heads in the sand, it's futile to try to force change."

"Je m'en fiche s'ils font l'autruche!" Arthur shouted, fully incensed by Nicolas' flippant attitude. 

"Your former apprentice abused a position of trust to gain access to a magical child and then proceeded to systematically turn her into a weapon to fix his own mistakes with another former pupil. You cannot tell me that he was somehow unknowing of the harm he inflicted on the Lady Potter!"

Before Nicolas could retort Mephisto's cultured voice cut the air like a knife.

"Arthur has a valid point and I believe we can all agree that the Lady Potter is exceptionally gifted; having survived more deadly confrontations through skill and quick thinking than even a hit wizard typically sees in a lifetime. But we are also ignoring the elephant in the room; what about the other children, who were no less valuable, that were deemed acceptable collateral damage under Albus' watch."

Harry spoke up shakily from where she sat bundled up in Yukio's lap, her hands cradling a cooing Fawkes. 

"Myrtle Warren was Voldemort's first murder when he was still a Hogwarts student by the name of Tom Riddle. Headmaster Dumbledore was only a teacher then but he did nothing to prevent Tom from murdering another child despite the fact that Tom expressed an interest in killing early on, which he somewhat foolishly confessed to Professor Dumbledore."

"Myrtle died in the second floor girls bathroom while her Herbology class was in session and became the ghost Moaning Myrtle, her death was turned into a joke, a prank gone too far. It was anything but, he used her death to create his first horcrux a diary that later possessed a student in my second year. The diary used the student to release Slytherin's basilisk in the school. Headmaster Dumbledore is lucky I was around to kill the basilisk as he obviously was either unwilling or incapable of stopping it in 1943."

"Having made the connection it is tempting to want to lay the deaths of all those who Voldemort and his Death Eaters killed directly at Dumbledore's feet but then that takes away the culpability of those individuals who chose to harm others."

"Instead I would like to mention the students that Headmaster Dumbledore was directly involved with and responsible for protecting."

Harry paused for a moment trying to get the shakiness out of her voice.

"Some of these names you may recognize; Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Regulus Black, Reubius Hagrid, Virginia Weasly, Percy Weasly, Luna Lovegood, Marrietta Edgecombe, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, Susan Bones, Marcus Flint, Cedric Diggory, Hermione Granger and Lord Neville Longbottom are just the few that I can think of off the top of my head."

Nicolas looked ashen. "Surely you cannot include Severus Snape in that list, and the Blacks were well known psychopaths."

Harry swallowed down her anger and maintained her matter of fact tone. "Severus Snape was my mother's best friend growing up. His father was a violent, abusive drunk who used to beat his "queer" son and his "useless" wife near to death on a regular basis. When Tobias finally managed to kill Eileen and then himself, all he left Severus with was crushing debt and far too many scars."

"Severus was sixteen and homeless, he approached Headmaster Dumbledore about taking on part time employment or an apprenticeship at Hogwarts and was told that the school was not a charity. Headmaster Dumbledore suggested he contact a recently graduated wealthy upperclassmen by the name of Lucius Malfoy and seek his patronage."

"Thus began the indentured service of Severus Snape, who I might add was abused horribly by Headmaster Dumbledore later in his adult life. Part of his condition for employment at Hogwarts was that he act as a double agent spying on Voldemort for Dumbledore. That man was literally tortured nightly and still taught potions everyday to keep a roof over his head while the Headmaster took it as his due."

Harry looked directly at Nicolas. "You expressed the opinion that the Blacks are a family of psychopaths, correct." 

"They are descended from an unstable cadet branch of the former Slytherin family. That is not common knowledge but the madness of the Blacks has been proven time and time again in recent history." Nicolas stated matter of factly. 

"You have a valid point Lord Flamel and I'm not going to bother arguing with you there, but I didn't list the Blacks as a whole, I specifically mentioned Sirius and Regulus. They were raised in an unthinkable environment where their parents saw no issue with the use of Cruciatus or thumbscrews for casual discipline. They were taught the dark arts almost before they could properly read and were expected to practice cursing each other instead of playing games like normal children."

Harry shook her head. "Sirius hated his family so much that he ran away from home when he was 12, giving up all rights to his inheritance and his place in society to live like a pauper with my father. The Potters were well to do but the Black scion couldn't be seen taking charity, so my grandparents pretended they didn't suddenly have another mouth to feed. Despite his close association with my father I still maintain that Sirius betrayed my parents because he took the advice of Headmaster Dumbledore and swapped his place as secret keeper for the Fidelius charm with Peter Pettigrew."

"To understand how monumental that betrayal was you should know that my father and his friends, with the exception of Remus Lupin, were all secretly Animagi.

"My father was a stag, Sirius was a dog and Peter was a rat. Headmaster Dumbledore convinced Sirius, the loyal and stalwart friend, to allow Peter, the self serving and survival oriented friend, to take on the burden of hiding the secret of where to find me and my parents in his soul when Voldemort was actively seeking to kill us."

"Peter sold us out the first chance he got and Sirius, the noble idiot, took off after Peter to get revenge. Peter murdered 13 muggles, Sirius was framed and sent to Azkaban for life while Peter lived a life in hiding as the pet rat of Percy Weasley. The only living persons who knew about the change of secret keeper were Sirius, Peter and Dumbledore who performed the spell."

"Not once has he ever spoken up about Sirius even after his death, he simply stayed silent and let an innocent man be tortured by dementors for 12 years."

"Regulus Black." Harry laughed humorlessly. "Was a hero. After his brother's dramatic exit his parents took measures to ensure he couldn't leave the same way and he was forced to become the perfect, malleable pure blood prince or die. He knew he would be pressed into Voldemort's service so he begged Headmaster Dumbledore to help him escape just before his majority."

"Headmaster Dumbledore informed him that he could not deprive a pureblood house of good standing their only heir, never mind that Sirius had never been disowned and was heir apparent. Dumbledore suggested that Regulus try his hand at spying and if he brought back actionable intelligence Dumbledore would protect him."

"Regulus proactively joined the Death Eaters and was a phenomenal spy, as such he was entrusted early on with the knowledge of an artifact of terrible worth. A locket that had belonged to Salazar Slytherin, which was corrupted by a piece of Voldemort's soul. He conspired with his house elf to steal the locket and plant a decoy locket instead of the actual horcrux."

"The plan was successful, they planted the decoy and escaped with the real horcrux but the horcrux had several dangerous and fatal protections. Unfortunately the effort to obtain the locket took it's toll on him and he died. Voldemort never discovered his betrayal and believed him to be loyal to the end. The only one who knew differently was Headmaster Dumbledore and he never even bothered to tell Sirius even though Regulus died in 1979, two years before Sirius was imprisoned. He never knew the truth that his little brother sacrificed his life for the fight against Voldemort. Sirius went to grave believing that all of his family had been evil and that he was unloved."

Fawkes made a sad sound that mirrored the somber mood in the room.

Nicolas sighed. "Lady Potter, I believe you, your account is too fantastic to be fiction but if you could elucidate the source of your information it would help me tremendously with regards to making a plan of attack."

Harry shifted in Yukio's lap, leaning back slightly causing Fawkes to squawk in complaint about the sudden inrush of colder than skin temperature air. Harry frowned slightly and summoned a small flame to her hand for the now large downy chick to bask in. Fawkes chirruped happily and resumed preening his swiftly regrowing feathers.

Harry frowned. "To answer your question Lord Flamel, Severus Snape was my head of house and eventually confided in me because of our shared suffering. As I am sure you already know my childhood was similar to his. Headmaster Dumbledore took great pains to educate me on the rise of Voldemort, primarily through first person pensive accounts. Personally, I think he was concerned with observing my reaction to the atrocities he showed me, hoping perhaps to determine whether or not I shared any disturbing proclivities with the man who was formerly Tom Riddle."

Harry shuddered and Yukio gently squeezed her reassuringly. 

"Tom was very twisted, I was glad to find out that we were really nothing alike which puts to rest the idea of nature versus nurture and places more emphasis on the power of free will in my opinion."

Harry shook her head. "As for the rest I am officially the last living Black that is a main blood line descendant. Sirius Black named me defacto Head of House Black and when he died I became the head of house in truth."

Nicolas looked as if he was trying hard to grasp at any straw. 

"If you were a head of house at thirteen why didn't you declare your emancipation?"

"I was concerned I would lose my place at Hogwarts and my living situation with the Granger family was more than satisfactory. I was blindsided by the Triwizard tournament and shortly afterwards things went completely out of control. I was placed in protective custody to ensure I couldn't run away or appeal to any other nations for asylum." 

Harry laughed bitterly and cupped Fawkes more securely. "I trusted Dumbledore and it has brought me to this."

"Nicolas." Arthur said in a dangerous low voice. "Two of the children that Lady Potter mentioned are family to me by marriage. The Lady Potter herself is in the process of being made a member of The Enclave of The Court. One way or another, with or without your input this information will be made public. The question you have to ask yourself is, as long lived as you are, what do you want your legacy to be?"

Lewin chimed in."I believe the issue here is what's called a 'sunk cost fallacy'. Just because Lord Flamel has expended a tremendous amount of effort to cultivate Albus Dumbledore does not mean that the end result is equal to the effort expended. But it is understandable that Lord Flamel would be reluctant to admit that he has wasted a considerable amount of time and resources on someone who is not giving him his expected return."

"That's the real reason why you are so reluctant to accept the truth, you don't want to admit you have been taken for a ride."

Nicolas grunted. "That was a hurtful thing you just said Mr. Light but it rang as true as the rest of what has been said and while I expect a certain amount of subterfuge on Johann's part he has always been a valuable source of accurate information."

Harry gave Nicolas a hard look. "I won't ask you to do anything on my behalf, at the very least just stay out of the way."

"Non my dear child. Albus is more my problem than anyone else's, and if anyone is going to put him down it will be me. It may be a case of too little, too late, and for that I am aggrieved." 

Nicolas stood and wobbled slightly. "I will be taking this straight to an emergency session with the ICW. Good day." He said with a bow before he left the room.

Mephisto followed closely behind. "Nicolas, let me take you to the edge of the wards so you can port key home as it looks like you have lost your familiar."

Nicolas nodded. "I appreciate it. Fawkes is occasionally capricious but this is the first time he has ever literally thrown himself at someone else. If you are right then I am satisfied that the Lady Potter will treat him well."

Mephisto used his key and they stepped through a small door and out onto an observation platform on the top of the highest tower on the highest peak of True Cross Academy. They both paused a moment to take in the stunning vista before Nicolas turned and shook Mephisto's hand gravely.

"You will always be a bastard Johann but you do right by those children and that is what matters. You can't help what they grow up to be but I think you have a good idea of what you are doing and I wish you all the best. I will be in touch when I have news."

Mephisto inclined his head graciously and listened for the slight popping of portkey activation before he carefully layered over the temporarily weakened spot in the wards.

He smiled widely in anticipation and considered taking out a few magical news paper subscriptions. With Nicolas Flamel at the head of the campaign to topple Dumbledore from the seat of power the reactions of the various wizarding nations was guaranteed to be, at the very least, highly dramatic. He laughed loudly and swung himself up to perch on the railing for a moment before swinging himself out and into open space.

Striding casually on thin air as if it were as simple as walking a paved footpath, Mephisto resolved to pop back slightly to see what happened during Harry's transformation that caused her so much discomfort. Her reaction was rather extreme considering that she had shifted well the night before.

EINS, ZWEI, DRIE! He intoned as he stepped back in time and sideways so he would appear outside the window behind Harry as she was shifting.

The minute he manifested back into real space he gasped and clutched his chest.

Lurching forward to lean against the window he saw clearly this time the thrice damned phoenix trying to burn away the demonic influence from Harry's body. If Harry had been imbued by anything less than the powers of an archangel the misguided child of the seraphim would have succeeded in sundering her from her power.

Whether he was operating on Albus' instructions, Nicholas' instructions or his own volition Mephisto resolved to have some strong words with the self righteous bird.

"I'm going to pluck him like a chicken and crucify him on the Southern promontory." He muttered menacingly as he back tracked and reemerged in the hallway outside of the dining room.

He kicked the door open roughly and walked directly towards Rin who was innocently holding a now juvenile Fawkes.

Without preamble Mephisto swept Fawkes from Rin's grasp and pinned him violently to the wall with his left hand while he tore off his right glove with his teeth. He spat his glove on the floor and growling, leveled his razor sharp claws at the phoenix threateningly.

"What exactly did you hope to accomplish by nearly killing The Lady Potter?" He hissed.

Fawkes turned his head stubbornly and closed his eyes trying to summon his fire to shift away. Mephisto snarled in rage and slammed Fawkes painfully against the wall again wringing out a small squalling moan. 

"Speak now Saraph or I will find something more.....entertaining to do with you involving pliers and looped time."

Fawked shook slightly and ruffled his feathers. "Thou art nowise the Lord of Light, sooth my allegiance lies with you nought!"

"I. DO. NOT. CARE.!" 

Mephisto bounced Fawkes off the wall on each snarled word for emphasis. 

"Lucifer has been so long from his kingdom that he has let his subjects run amok. You may be used to a certain amount of lassitude but I will not tolerate it in my territory and with one who is family to me!"

Fawkes trembled and wilted. "Puissant Lord, meseems the Lady twas teen in mine enye.....prithee forgive mine foolhardy deed maugre any animosity be twixt. Twas meant no harm by it."

"Be that as it may, you very nearly sundered her in twain you idiotic bird!" Mephisto snarled as he turned, teeth bared, at the light touch that interrupted the rant he was working into.

Harry stood simply at his side one hand calmly resting on his shoulder.

"I forgive you Fawkes but I don't think I can trust you if you are going to take action like that without considering the consequences." Harry patted Mephisto's shoulder amicably and turned away.

The phoenix let out a long shuddering cry of distress as Mephisto dug his claws in.

"Hist! Lackaday! An oath! An oath! To turn mine froward ilke to your ends!"

Harry paused. She turned to Mephisto with a questioning look.

Mephisto's anger hadn't cooled in the slightest but he managed to express himself through clenched teeth. "I will abide by your decision Harry-chan even though I would like nothing better than to watch him bleed endlessly."

Fawkes shuddered as Mephisto gave him another particularly rough squeeze.

"Fawkes and I have a long history. I don't believe he truly meant me harm which is the only reason I ask you to stay your hand." Harry said quietly. "Any oath given must supercede your allegiance to the light. Do you owe any personal oaths to Lucifer as your liege lord?"

"Nay my Lady." Fawkes warbled out in relief.

"Do you have any oaths of any kind that will interfere with or prevent you from forming an oath of service to The Lady Potter?" Mephisto asked roughly.

"Nay my lord." Fawkes said meekly.

Mephisto leaned back with a sneer. "Remember this well, your life is forfit if you violate your oath. Ageless though you may be, I remember the forming of your kind and will not hesitate to un-make you. Clear?"

"Aye my lord." Fawkes said weakly.

"Say your right words then Seraph!" Mephisto drawled coldly.

Fawked trilled beautifully. "Parfay! Tis mine fevent desire to serve or the siege of my Lady and hark unto her and no other except at her discretion, forthwith in perpetuity. Light begat of light, swoopstake was mine creation, mine Lady's purpose be mine guide, so mote it be."

Harry held out her arms and Mephisto obligingly handed over the relieved Phoenix.

Harry held Fawkes gently for a moment. "I Lady Angharad Lilith Potter-Black accept the Saraph known as Fawkes the Phoenix as my vassel and declare any previous contracts or obligations void by my authority." She pat his head gently. "There, there. All better now but your English is positively archaic. You should work on that so you can be clearly understood, yes?"

"Verily my Lady."

"Go behave yourself with the others. I would like to talk to Mephisto." Harry said simply. Fawkes trilled his assent and hopping from her arm, glided the short way to the table on his mostly regrown feathers.

Harry bent down and retrieved Mephisto's glove from the floor, shaking it out with a quick scourgify.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

Mephisto was crouched with his gloved hand braced on the wall examining the nails of his right hand in the light from the window. 

"I had forgotten that Seraph blood is corrosive but the damage is slight and will resolve quickly." he looked up at Harry through heavy narrowed eyes. "And you? Are you all right?"

Harry nodded. "A bit sore but already feeling much better. What exactly happened?"

Arthur made himself known. "Yes, that is also something I would like to know if you don't mind."

Mephisto stood and took his glove from Harry and methodically put it on as he turned towards Arthur. 

"The fool bird tried to purify Harry of demonic influence on a whim because she seemed unwell to him. I wasn't sure at first what happened so I took a slight detour after seeing Nicolas off. Suffice to say I was deeply unhappy with what I saw."

"Well that explains why I hurt so much much changing back. I remember thinking that I would have been in terrific pain if I was in my human body. I probably should have stayed in my demonic form a bit longer but it was getting strange seeing everyone like that. Lewin is like....boom" Harry made an expansive gesture with her fingers stabbing out like javelins.

"Who's like what?" Lewin said as he joined the conversation.

"You!" Harry exclaimed. "You look like a hedgehog! All pointy spiky bits going everywhere! Just how many damn contracts do you have!?"

Lewin grinned sheepishly and rubbed his neck. "Ah....a few. I'm not sure if I should be weirded out or not that you could see my soul while in your demonic form. No offense but that's a bit creepy."

Yukio frowned thoughtfully and gave Harry a concerned look. "Is this related to what we discussed on Sunday?"

Harry inclined her head briefly and then rounded on Arthur while Mephisto snickered obnoxiously.

"And you Angelus, what in Merlin's saggy trousers is going on with your sword!?" Harry said in clear astonishment. "At first I thought you were compensating for something because frankly the size of it is ridiculous, but then I noticed it is attached to you like Lewin, like a second lover!"

At this Mephisto laughed loudly as Harry carried on awkwardly.

"I didn't know you could be connected to an inanimate object that way! It doesn't contain a part of your soul like a phylactery or a horcrux. Angelus did you know your sword has it's own soul?" Harry suddenly turned a little green. "Oh Merlin! Your sword has a soul!"

Arthur looked confused by her distress. "Well yes, the fact Caliburn is a demon sword is not exactly a secret. She's actually quite vocal and demanding."

"She?" Lewin needled lightly.

Arthur gave his partner a disproving look. "Don't be rude Lewin, there is no competition between the two of you."

"Says you...." Lewin grumbled.

Harry shook her head violently still looking out of sorts.

"Caliburn.....Merlin....where have I heard that name?"

Mephisto scoffed. "Fufufu, what do they teach at Hogwarts now a days? You invoke him often enough, now recall your history of magic, well, the British variety specifically."

Harry gave Mephisto a flat look. "History of Magic is literally taught by a ghost. I think he has been covering the same section of the Goblin Wars since he died, which judging by his horrible tweed robes was sometime in the late 19th century, but with wizarding fashion it's hard to tell."

Mephisto laughed sardonically. "Yet another crime to lay at the feet of the Great Albus Dumbledore. Very well I shall give you the condensed version. Come shall we resume our luncheon?"

Mephisto once again took his place at the head of the table. Banishing the dirty plates and cutlery he summoned the dessert trays and an aperitif.

"Treacle tart! Yes!" Harry said with excitedly as she served herself a generous portion.

Mephisto laughed genuinely at Harry's enthusiasm. Looking around the table at the seemingly incongruous and motley group he was struck by how singular this moment was. In all his long years he had never managed to create much of a family for himself.

Demons were entirely too ambitious in Mephisto's opinion. With the exception of Amaimon who was content with his candy and his garden, any demons who he allowed close would inevitably seek his subjugation to their own ruination.

Mephisto would allow no one to rule him, not even Satan to whom he owed his very existence, not that Satan was entirely aware of that per se. Mephisto granted him the title of father as more of an honorific and to help sell his obstinacy as the acting out of a frustrated child. But within in all successful lies there is a kernel of truth.

Mephisto remembered the first creator, the overwhelming presence that both was, and was not a part of every living being, and how those early timeless days eventually turned to drudgery and ruin. Mephisto knew he was created with purpose, but eventually he began to question and doubt his own creation.

What kind of perfect being would create one such as Samael, a creature of entropy and death, while simultaneously attempting to maintain an idyllic paradise without death or decay.

Mephisto wasn't the only being who struggled with the cognitive dissonance to disastrous results.

The first creator attempted to rectify the dilemma by purifying it's self of all material influence, and instead managed to liberate a goodly portion of it's conscious ego. In doing so Satan the adversary was created. The formless amorphous oneness that was left over after that act of irreparable self harm was little more than a program simply acting out it's directive.

But even half of a god is still a god with a god's powers; thankfully Satan did not have the full awareness of his previous self. He was still crudely childlike, while not exactly biddable, he was more interested in playing and tinkering than asserting his will.

Unfortunately in this case, all children grow up if given enough time.

Mephisto shuddered, Amaimon often compared humans, with their inherent fragility to soap bubbles, but in the face of a fully awakened Satan they would all, humans and demons alike, be torn apart and tossed like so much flotsam on an unfeeling sea.

"Ich bin ein Teil des Teils, der anfangs alles war Ein Teil der Finsternis, die sich das Licht gebar...." he murmured introspectively before noticing that everyone was looking at him expectantly.

Mephisto coughed and blushed lightly. "My apologies, where was I?"

"Magical history." Harry said bluntly as she plowed through her tart.

Mephisto laced his fingers together and rested his chin on the back of his gloved hands. "Ah yes, on the subject of Merlin; considering how you British wizards have elevated him to godlike status I find it surprising that your education is so incomplete with regards to his history."

Harry rolled her eyes. "I'm a special case so don't assume it isn't common knowledge just because I don't know it. I tried hard to get caught up but then I only made it through four years of Hogwarts so my education is a bit spotty at best."

Mephisto nodded. "Fair point. Caliburn was forged on the isle of Avalon and was wielded by Uther Pendragon and then later by his son Arthur. Merlin worked many enchantments upon the blade going so far as to reforge it at one point. As far as the soul contained therein, unless Caliburn chooses to answer when asked, we have no way of knowing who it is for certain. There are conflicting accounts; it could very well be the spirit of Morgan, Mordred, Igraine or even Arthur himself."

Harry looked a little ill again. "That's what I was trying to get at Angelus; that's no demon sword, there is a human soul in there!"

Arthur frowned. "It is a little strange to think that Caliburn posesses a human soul."

Ryuji had, up to this point, been firmly in observation mode. Since his day went to shit nearly the moment they walked into the classroom he was in a near state of perpetual shock. Missing huge chunks of conversation because Harry only spoke English didn't help him get his bearings.

Lunch with a near immortal alchemist, an Arc Knight, the Paladin, whatever the hell Harry actually was and demon royalty was kinda fucking him up; oh yeah, he almost forgot about the actual living Phoenix.

But demon swords, that was something he knew more than a little about.

"It's not so strange actually." Ryuji said calmly. "The label 'demon sword' is a bit misleading. All that means is the sword is capable of channeling a soul or many souls as the case may be or in some cases provide a place for a soul to reside permanently outside of a corporal body. The word demon has a negative connotation but demon swords can be fairly benign acting as conduit for the individual wielder or utterly evil like a litch sword which consumes souls."

"So my sword is the first kind, a conduit of sorts since it channels my own soul?" Rin asked.

Mephisto sat up attentively. "When Shiro-kun acquired the sword it was accustomed to channeling fire but the demon who had occupied it was long gone. I do not know if it perished or simply moved on to a different living arrangement but that meant I was able to siphon off enough of your soul into the sword. This would have the effect of suppressing the physical manifestation of your demon heritage and safely hiding your demon heart."

Mephisto sighed. "At least that was the plan had it not been fatally flawed. As it stands I am not certain exactly how you are tied to the sword."

Yukio leaned forward. "Anuie, we need to figure this out now. If Nii-san is going to be training with Angel Sensei we need to know exactly what is going to happen when Nii-san draws that sword."

Konekomaru nervously spoke up. "Forgive me if this is presumptuous but if Potter-san can see souls then wouldn't you need to simply have her observe Okumura-kun while the sword is being drawn to determine the flow of chi?"

"That may work." Lewin said quietly. "It was your spell to begin with Mephisto you should be able to adjust it if needed."

Mephisto nodded. "Very well. If everyone is done with their lunch we can proceed to the ballroom to perform an experiment."

Harry jumped to her feet and cried. "Lay on, Macduff! And damned be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'"

Mephisto gave her an incredulous look.

"What?!" She chided. "I told you my education was spotty, not non existent!"

Mephisto laughed and waved for everyone to follow him from the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation notes:
> 
> nowise= not at all
> 
> Sooth= truth/ reality/ in truth
> 
> Puissant= powerful/ mighty
> 
> meseems= it seems to me
> 
> ilke= kind or nature
> 
> Teen= injury/ grief
> 
> Enye= eyes
> 
> prithee = expression of wish or request
> 
> maugre= in spite of
> 
> Hist= used to gain attention
> 
> Lackaday = expression of regret or deprecation  
> 
> froward= turned away; self-willed; unreasonable; perverse; adverse
> 
> Parfey= by my faith- verily
> 
> Or= before
> 
> Siege= throne/ seat
> 
> Forthwith = immediately
> 
> swoopstake= in an indiscriminate manner
> 
> Je m'en fiche s'ils font l'autruche : I don't care if they do the ostrich
> 
>  
> 
> Ich bin ein Teil des Teils, der anfangs alles war Ein Teil der Finsternis, die sich das Licht gebar....: Part of the part am I, which at the first was all, A part of darkness, which gave birth to light...."


	21. All Of My Cracks Are Filled With Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry breaks the ballroom. Mephisto fixes the ballroom. Rin and Yukio break the ballroom again. Harry fixes the ballroom because Mephisto needs a nap now but there is no rest for the wicked.

They walked down the same hallway that Harry remembered from Sunday and as she came to the open double doors she stared.

The ballroom was a gilt and mirrored monstrosity that looked all too familiar. She shivered and slowed before some inner voice told her to straighten the fuck up, weakness was not acceptable.

Despite her trepidation she walked through the arched doorway with her head held high. Her heart beat and breathing slowed until it was in rhythm with her foot falls; the clicking of her school shoes striking the tile echoed slightly in the cavernous space.

She wondered how a golden room full of lights and mirrors could still look dark and menacing. Strange shadows slithered in the periphery of her vision but she deliberately ignored them knowing that Nagini was long dead, killed by her hand months before during the escape from Riddle Manor.

"Secure the wards." Issued from a raised dias in the front of the room, in a soft but still commanding voice.

She hardly noticed when her escort turned away to comply with his master's wishes, she simply walked forward, looking directly at her death. She suppressed the itch in her palms knowing that drawing the elder wand here would be a mistake and he would be able to defend himself from her blade. That she was the wielder of the sword of Griffindor wasn't secret; she had no chance of getting close enough to strike.

"Hello Miss Potter." The breathy hissing quality of his voice clued her in to the fact that he was useing parseltongue. She almost laughed, seemingly the whole Death Eater cohort was arranged behind him in a show of solidarity but none of the them could understand a damn thing he said, the wankers.

"Thank you for joining us so promptly and without complaint. Your compliance is.....refreshing. As a little reward for being such a good girl I will spare you the night's entertainment and keep this simple, two words my dear, Avada Cadavra!"

She felt the spell hit her hard but instead of pushing her back it pulled her forwards onto her toes. She gasped and stumbled three steps towards him, throwing her hand up reflexively. To her utter surprise the sword of Gryffindor settled in her grip as Voldemort's head tumbled from his shoulders, bouncing off the dias.

There were panicked cries of shock and dismay. Someone cast fiendfyre in her general direction but only managed to set the curtains and someone's clothing alight. Anguished screaming swiftly became the dominant noise, cutting through the garbled shouts of spells being cast. Harry backed up quickly trying to keep the Death Eaters in her field of vision even as thick acrid black smoke filled the air. She dropped her wand into her hand and screamed "BOMBARDA MAXIA!"

Blowing out the mirrors in the middle of the room she animated them into a cyclone of shining razor edged shards to give herself time to get to the door. She sensed more than she saw the person moving up behind her; adjusting her grip minutely she pivoted smoothly and slashed down and across in an overhand strike to protect her torso while she prepared a shield with her wand hand.

Her blow was caught by a sheathed sword as both Yukio and Rin yelled for her to stop.

Harry blinked up at Rin's face, his dark blue eyes wide with shock. The sound of glass crashing to the ground behind her was deafening in the otherwise silent room.

Harry took a shuddering breath and banished her sword. She felt sick with adrenalin and embarrassment. "I am so sorry." she whispered to the room at large.

"No harm done." Mephisto said calmly. "I have been wanting to redecorate for some time and kept putting it off."

EINS, ZWEI, DRIE! snap POOF!

Mephisto banished the glass and the gilt. The black and white tiled floor became a lovely natural wood and the walls took on the appearance of light colored stone. The arching gaudy candelabras were replaced by tasteful wrought iron sconces with covers made of pieced colored glass. The ceiling was vaulted and tiled in bright geometric patterns. Low couches piled liberally with cushions and pillows occupied the corners and much of the wall space. The overall look was Persian inspired but otherwise ethnically ambiguous.

"There, much better now." Mephisto said smoothly.

"What the hell was that!?" Ryuji spluttered in shock.

Lewin stepped in front of Ryuji blocking his line of sight to Harry. "That was an appropriate battle response to the wrong set of circumstances. Something about the room triggered a flashback, be kind."

Lewin turned back to see Arthur holding Harry gently and talking to her lowly, with Yukio hovering anxiously beside them.

Fawkes was busy twittering something uplifting as he perched on one of the colorful wall sconces.

"Are you guys all right, no one got cut by the glass?" Rin asked Konekomaru who was staring dazedly at the suddenly transformed space.

"Huh? Oh, no we're fine......just a little surprised is all." Konekomaru took in a deep breath and let it out shakily. "That was terrifying. What do you think triggered her reaction?"

"According to Oniisan the room was an exact replica of the ballroom at the Malfoy manor. According to Anuie it was the other way around." Rin shook his head. "Either way the last time Harry was in a room like that she was fighting for her life against upwards of 30-40 wizards while the whole place burned down around her."

Lewin looked grim. "Is she going to be ok?"

Rin glanced over to where Harry was laughing at something Yukio was saying while Arthur and Mephisto squabbled.

"Yeah, she's ridiculously resilient and not in a tough it out till it gets better kind of way." Rin smiled sadly. "She's the type who's been broken so many times she just makes note of the jagged edges and continues on."

"Kintsugi." Konekomaru said plainly.

"That is a surprisingly beautiful analogy." Lewin smiled at Konekomaru before he turned back towards the group "All right! Let's get this show on the road."

"Are you sure you still want to do this?" Yukio asked with concern.

"I'm fine Yuki, it just caught me off guard. Mephisto fixed it, problem solved." Harry said one last time.

Yukio nodded and helped her as she pulled off her tie, vest and shirt until she was in a bra again.

Harry turned to Mephisto. "You are right, the wings are a pain to deal with."

Mephisto snorted. "Yes well, the cloak was my solution and you know exactly how that worked out." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Speaking of the cloak, do you still have the ability to become invisible?"

Harry shut her eyes and focused on the feeling of the cloak settling over her and enveloping her, the feeling of being secret and safe.

"Woah." Konekomaru whispered as Harry shimmered like a heat mirage and was gone.

"Now draw it back." Mephisto directed clearly.

Harry released the feeling of the cloak and suddenly came back into view.

"That was......interesting." Harry shook out her hands. "Ok, Yukio and Rin, I need you over on the far side of the room. Everyone else behind me so I have a clear line of sight."

Everyone shuffled around obligingly and Harry shifted into her demonic form.

"Ugh, I don't think I'm ever going to get used to everything being so blue." Harry rubbed her eyes. "All right Rin, draw the sword."

With the exception of Harry and Mephisto everyone took a few steps back in shock as Rin and Yukio both erupted into an electric blue bonfire.

"Ok, well, the bad news is I'm probably going to have this burned into the back of my retinas for hours." Harry once again rubbed her eyes. "The good news is with the sword unsheathed they are both balanced and there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage."

Mephisto frowned thoughtfully as he tapped his gloved finger on his lip.

"Sheathe the sword Rin-chan." He ordered.

As soon as the sword was sheathed Rin's exaggerated demonic features went back to normal while Yukio's went away completely.

"Now Yukio draw the sword." Harry called out.

Yukio pulled the sword and once again the flames billowed out eagerly. This time only Yukio was affected and once again the flames took on the impression of wings and a crown but this time Harry could see it on his soul as well, so bright that she gasped in pain. 

For a split second she stared in terrified awe before she clapped her hands over her eyes. "PUT IT AWAY!" she yelled. Yukio sheathed the sword immediately.

"Harry-chan!" Mephisto worriedly turned her to face him.

"For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." She said quietly with her hands still covering her eyes. 

"The seal must be unbound. Rin will have the learn to use the sword as a passive conduit otherwise you are gambling Yukio's sanity and both of their lives. The influence is subtle but it's there, without full access to their twin bond Yukio will start hearing him soon."

"Scheiße!" Mephisto swore. "Yes, fine. Yuki-chan please bring me the sword. Harry-chan you can change back."

Harry shifted back and was relieved to find her human body only registered minor discomfort.

"Huh?! That's Kurikara!" Ryuji exclaimed as he got a good look at the sword in Mephisto's hands. "That's the sword that was stolen from our temple!"

"Oh?" Mephisto gave Ryuji an irritated glance. "You should be happy to know it is being used for it's purpose and not collecting dust like a useless trinket."

Ryuji growled and was startled when Lewin grabbed his arm.

"Not now. Be patient and learn." Lewin nodded. "This is going to be dramatic."

"Turn out your pockets and strip down. There is a good chance that anything on your person will be completely immolated." Mephisto said matter of factly.

While Harry, Rin and Yukio stripped down to their underwear and piled their personal effects on one of the couches near the door Mephisto examined the remnants of the seal on the sheath.

Once they were done he pulled the blade out just enough to loose a blue, hazy halo around Rin and Yukio.

"This may hurt, this may look terrible, you may wish for death halfway through but do not, I repeat, do not interrupt me!" Mephisto gave everyone a stern look.

"Harry, join Yukio and Rin on as close to the middle of the room as possible then sit in a circle facing each other and hold hands. This is going to be a close thing as it is, we need need every advantage we can get and your bonds should allow you to channel the backlash from the seal releasing."

Mephisto grimaced. "Everyone who is not inherently fire resistant move to the front of the room as close to the door as possible. Seraph, do not interfere but you have my permission to shield the room so the fire does not spread and we don't bring the ceiling down."

Fawkes looked to Harry and once he received a nod from her he trilled his understanding and flew to a ready position.

"On my count be ready! EINS, ZWEI, DREI!" Mephisto ripped the sword from the scabbard with a sound like wet silk tearing violently. He quickly reversed the blade and plunged it point first into the floor where it stayed upright, quivering with the aftershock of the blow.

A wave of blue flame surged forward from the edge of the blade and crashed over where Yukio, Rin and Harry were sitting. The fire completely blotted out their forms until not even their silhouettes could be seen.

Fawkes began a slow simple song that rapidly became a complex harmony as he wove his shining white fire into an elaborate web around the conflagration that was growing in intensity in the middle of the room.

Mephisto was covered in a fine sheen of sweat but the heat was barely noticeable to him as he moved his fingers in a series of complex shapes. The layers of warding had to be removed precisely, one at a time and in the correct order.

While he worked the fire burned hotter and the tiles overhead began to take on the appearance of melted wax.

Just when the edges of his coat began smoldering Mephisto felt the last ward release and let out a sigh of relief. The sword was completely purged, now to deal with the fire.

He reached out with his magic looking for Harry's, which he was gambling on to be the anchor. He caught the edge of something that reminded him of the spark of intimacy they had shared and he tugged at it sharply. 

Like a fisherman hauling in a catch he allowed the unruly magic to pull away while still maintaining his hold and when he felt it relax slightly he exerted his will and reeled it in more firmly.

The wild magic that was tangled with Harry's was fighting his influence hard, but it was a newly born, tempestuous thing and his steady control was wearing it down. He gave one last solid yank and was rewarded with the last of the blue flames flickering and dying out.

As the heat shimmer began to clear he walked slowly towards the smoking crater in the floor.

The edges of the depression glowed red hot but he paid it no mind as he stood and peered over the edge.

Crouching down he could just make out three still figures in the bottom. Fawkes landed silently on his shoulder and chirped questioningly at his obvious fatigue.

"Yes, your assistance is preferred. How many can you lift out of the hole safely Saraph?"

"Six my lord." Fawkes answered obediently.

Mephisto sighed. "Fortuitous. Arthur, Lewin, I am in need of your assistance."

Arthur was already on his way over with Lewin right behind him.

Lewin let out a low whistle. "Wow, that was one hell of a fire." Seeing both Arthur and Mephisto giving him dirty looks he grinned sheepishly. "Heh, no pun intended."

Arthur held out a hand. "I could try levitating them out but there is a significant amount of ambient magic here. I'm not sure I will be able to maintain the spell consistently enough to be safe."

Mephisto nodded. "I thought as much. Fawkes can drop us in, each of us can carry one of them and Fawkes can lift us out."

Lewin nodded. "Fine, is it cool enough?"

Mephisto laughed. "Not by a long shot but we are out of time and I am in no shape to give us more."

"Then we must move with haste." Arthur affirmed grimly as he layered them with cooling spells.

They each grasped a section of Fawkes's long feathered tail and gave themselves over to the peculiar weightlessness of the Phoenix's aura.

As they decended into the pit it bacame possible for Angel and Lewin to pick out irregular shapes laying at the bottom of the nearly perfect concave depression.

They touched down lightly next to the three charred black forms where Harry, Rin and Yukio had been sitting. Arthur made a strangled sound of shock and dismay while Lewin retched slightly.

"They are alive and well under the carbon but we have no time to waste!" Moving quickly Mephisto took off his overcoat and rolled Yukio into it.

Arthur did the same for Rin while Lewin used his poncho for Harry. Just the act of moving them created a flurry of ash and they were relieved to find normal looking skin underneath the scaly black patina.

Once they each had a firm grip on their cargo they grasped Fawkes's tail and relaxed slightly as they cleared the edge of the smoking pit.

They carried Rin, Harry and Yukio over to where Ryuji and Konekomaru waited nervously. Mephisto laid Yukio carefully on the floor while the others followed suit.

Mephisto was unsurprised to see Yukio displaying the visual signs of his demonic heritage. His ears had lengthened and pointed. His nails were elongated and sharp but the most obvious trait was his tail that lay curled up next to him. Despite the soot and ash covering his body he looked similar enough to Rin now that for once it was easy to see they were twins.

Having made that observation it was apparent that Yukio was still very much Yukio, his distinctive moles and furrowed brow gave him away.

Mephisto could see him breathing but did not relax until he could see Yukio's demon heart burning with a cheerful blue flame on his chest, in the exact center of Harry's sigil.

Mephisto briefly patted Yukio affectionately and turned his attention to Rin. His changes were less dramatic than Yukio's but he didn't pass through the fire untouched. Rin's demonic features were a little more defined than before and his heart also flamed brightly in the center of Harry's sigil.

Lewin was still holding Harry in a partially reclined pose out of deference for her wings. Her coloring was deeper, more vibrant and the resurrection stone pulsed and shivered in her chest like a living thing. It took a moment for Mephisto to realize that she was whimpering quietly and shaking in Lewin's arms.

Mephisto checked her pulse worriedly. "Arthur can you wake her?"

Arthur nodded and drew his wand.

"Enervate!" He cried and Harry came to with a gasp and slammed her hands over her eyes. She immediately pulled away from Lewin gagging and coughing miserably.

When Lewin tried to reach out to support her she cried out. "No! No don't touch me!"

Clutching the poncho to her body with one hand while she partially shielded her eyes with the other she scooted over to where Yukio and Rin lay side by side.

Harry looked them over and then suddenly slumped forward. "Oh thank fuck!" She said with feeling.

Mephisto crouched down next to her. "Do you think you can shift back now?" He asked Harry who giggled a little hysterically.

"Bully! Why not?!" She said in a high pitched tone. "I'm brill, my soul is still exactly where it's supposed to be. Rin and Yukio look like a big eye wateringly bright blob, no indication that HE is going to be able to crash the party now. So yeah change back now, got it."

Harry focused on her human body and pulled. The change was effortless and painless for the first time. She was positively vibrating with energy and it was making her feel edgy.

"Mephisto." Harry crossed her legs and bounced her foot rapidly. "I am feeling really amped up here. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Mephisto frowned thoughtfully. "This may be outside of the scope of your current abilities but if you would like to attempt to restore the room I won't protest."

Harry held out her hands expectantly and thanked Arthur for helping her off the floor.

Giving Rin and Yukio one last appraising look over she strode barefoot and filthy, the poncho barely covering her, towards the middle of the room. She pulled Kurikara from the floor and turned back momentarily to pass the sword to Mephisto who sheathed it without comment.

Walking forwards she came to a halt at a safe distance from the gaping hole in the floor and stood rigidly with her arms extended.

Her softly spoken "Repairo" was not proportionate to the staggering changes that were being wrought in the space.

The melted tile seemed to run in reverse until it reached it's earlier, undamaged configuration and stopped moving all together. The floor reformed in layers from the inside out and as the wood filled in the last of the scars from the fire, a swirling cloud of dust and ash pulled from all directions in the room and coalesced into a pile of brand new looking undergarments.

Harry calmly stepped into her underwear and bent down to pull them up. She grabbed her bra and Yukio and Rin's boxers before walking back to where everyone was staring dumbfounded at the newly restored room.

Harry remembered a charm that Madam Pomphrey had used many times in the infirmary. "Induco" restored Rin and Yukio's clothing. She took a moment to put her bra on manually absently remembering that a spelled on bra was intolerably uncomfortable before she cast "Induco" one last time.

Fully dressed she returned Lewin's poncho dispassionately as she considered the issue of the sleeping Rin and Yukio.

Harry decided to rip it all off in one go, like a plaster and cast a strong "Rennervate".

Run and Yukio sat up coughing and spluttering as if they had been shocked.

"Shit!" Rin said as soon as he managed a breath. "Is everyone all right?"

"We aren't dead. The damage to the room had been reversed and I could murder some chocolate right about now." Harry said flatly.

Mephisto retrieved his coat from an astonished Yukio and reaching into a pocket he produced a bar of chocolate.

He passed the bar to Harry. "It is not Honeydukes finest but will this suffice?"

"Ta!" Harry descended on the bar ravenously for a few seconds before she considerately broke off the end and split it up for Yukio and Rin.

Yukio crammed the offered chocolate in his mouth and stood slowly. 

"That was, I think, the worst thing I have ever felt in my life." Yukio said with a slight lisp around the chocolate as he replaced his things in his pockets and put his shoulder holster back on.

Restoring his glasses on the bridge of his nose he turned and looked at Rin who was silently kiting up beside him. "How are you?"

Rin paused for a moment as he reconnected his wallet chain to his belt. "I feel fine. The little light show on my chest is distracting but I assume, like our tails, this is just something to learn to hide."

Yukio looked down for the first time and the blue of his heart's flame reflected off his glasses hiding his eyes completely.

"Oh." Yukio said weakly. He turned his head and watched his own tail lash agitatedly for a moment. "I didn't even notice. It feels.....normal?"

Rin nodded. "I felt the same way too at first. Which really didn't help me feel less guilty about the old man. In a way it would have been easier to handle if being a demon felt evil or wrong."

"Instead it feels like coming home." Yukio said with a shake to his voice.

Arthur retrieved his over coat from Rin. "That doesn't make you any less his sons. Shiro-sama knew the truth of you and loved you anyway."

Ryuji approached them and threw Rin and Yukio completely off guard when he snaked his arms around them and hauled them in for a manly but emotional hug.

"You fucking idiots!" Ryuji grumbled thickly. "I thought you died!"

He patted them roughly on the back and stepped over to where Lewin was conversing with a somewhat more relaxed Harry as Fawkes was busy preening himself while perching on a completely overwhelmed Konekomaru.

Ryuji stopped in front of Lewin and gave a low bow once he was certain he had Lewin's attention. 

"I, Sugaro Ryuji, would be honored to become your apprentice Light Sensei if you will have me, on the condition that my loyalty to my friends is not challenged by my role as your student sir."

Lewin bowed back. "The preexisting condition for me to be allowed to take you on as my Apprentice was that I would not interfere with your friendship with the Okumura twins and would allow you to support their goals and aspirations. I am offering to become your Sensei with that in mind. I do not ask for your obedience or even your loyalty, I only ask that as my student you keep an open mind and seriously apply yourself to learning what I have to teach. One day I hope you will be able to stand in my place as a protector of Assaiah and teach a student of your own. That is all I ask."

"I accept your terms and am proud to call you Sensei."

Lewin straightened and in a rare show of openness tilted his head back so Ryuji could see his unusual eyes clearly. "I am grateful for your enthusiasm and your trust and I promise to live up to your expectations."

"Lewin is an accomplished slob and a wastrel but he is also a fine exorcist and has a keen intellect." Mephisto said smoothly while Lewin blushed and Arthur looked on in amusement. 

"I told him I would only approve if he treated you seriously Ryuji-kun. Come to me if he falls short of your expectations."

Arthur quirked a sweet smile. "Or me, I am happy to discipline Lewin anytime."

"Hey! Shut it you perverts!" Lewin's color deepened but any further abuse was cut off as his phone rang.

While he stepped aside to take the call Mephisto addressed the group grimly.

"That is most likely the exorcist from surveillance. I know this is less than ideal timing but I ask that you all bear with and answer any questions that you consider to be reasonable." His voice dropped into a darker tone. "Above all keep a cool head."

Mephisto waved Kirikara at Rin and Yukio. Rin stepped forward to claim his sword and Yukio followed.

Mephisto spoke plainly letting just a little of his fatigue show. "I am going to have to hide your hearts for the both of you until you can do it yourselves. Rin-chan, please show Yuki-chan how to hide his tail, when we have time I will walk you through the meditation to develop the ability to hide certain features but for now this will have to do." he snapped his fingers and their flames didn't go out so much as they folded in on themselves.

Yukio patted his chest. He could feel his demon heart, still burning merrily away, but it was absolutely hidden from sight.

"Wicked!" Harry exclaimed. "That's a nice trick there, almost like a little pocket dimension."

Mephisto nodded shallowly and seeing Lewin was off the phone he pulled out his key ring. "Shall we?"

Lewin laughed "Yeah, don't worry, I think whoever is pulling strings on the Vatican's side is going to be annoyed when their plan backfire spectacularly.

Mephisto chuckled darkly as he led the procession through the door and into the cram school hallway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, this was a challenge to write. I wanted to give you guys a peek at how things went down at Malfoy Manor without a long exposition peice.
> 
> Harry has suitcases of trauma that she hasn't been able to unpack; Yukio and Rin are similarly affected/ afflicted by/with the things they have experienced but so far have only just started talking about things, the power of repression is strong in those two.
> 
> On the bright side, Harry has good coping mechanisms and has talked with a therapist from time to time (thank goodness for the Grangers!) so this won't set her back.
> 
> Kudos to Sir Angel, Sir Light and Sir Pheles for rolling with it, but then again, they have been around and seen some shit too.
> 
> Konekomaru and Ryuji are just overwhelmed, it's been a hell of a day and they haven't even made it to dinnertime yet.
> 
>  
> 
> Translation notes.
> 
> Kintsukuroi= romanji for 金繕い, "golden repair"
> 
> Scheiße= Shit


	22. The Shit Show Cometh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Exorcist from surveillance finally shows up and does his job. Incidentally the conspiracy gains another supporter.

"Ah! Arc Knight Redarm! I didn't expect to see you here!"

Osceola crossed his arms and gave the effusive demon a flat look. "That was the idea Sir Pheles." Once he noticed Arthur and Lewin and his expression lightened considerably.

"Angel." Osceola managed a nod and a tight smile before Lewin plowed into him for a one armed armed hug. Osceola suppressed a surprised grunt, for such a little guy Lewin was surprisingly strong.

Lewin stepped back and smiled up through his messy black fringe of hair. "Oh man! You have idea idea how glad I am to see you!" 

"I was surprised to get your message but with both of you here and the Vatican requesting a specialist from my division I came as quickly as I could." 

Osceola gave Mephisto a suspicious glance. "What exactly is going on here?"

Mephisto moved to speak but Arthur cut him off. 

"Light and I were asked to head an inspection team to assess the level of the current Paige class to see if they could be moved up to Exwire earlier than the typical schedule allows."

Osceola's eyebrows came together in consternation. "Why would the Vatican send the Paladin and an Arc Knight on such a pedestrian task?"

Mephisto lazily waved his hand. "I requested them personally, considering that this current crop of Paiges contains a number of highly talented young people with strong demonic heritage I wanted to make sure the evaluation was as unbiased as possible."

Osceola raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "And you believed that Angel and Light would give you an unbiased assessment." 

Mephisto chuckled at Redarm's bluntness and Arthur's discomfited expression. "I should clarify that I was fairly certain they would find the students satisfactory and their opinion would carry more weight than most."

"Yes, now that I can believe." Osceola looked towards Lewin. "So what happened."

Lewin's good humor dropped immediately. 

"Angel and I let the main group go ahead of us so we could discuss a private matter with Middle First Class Exorcist Okumura and his familiar. When we stopped to check in on the Paiges before we rejoined the main group we discovered that one class in particular had been targeted and attacked by seemingly every trainer that accompanied the team through their familiars."

Osceola's shock very quickly turned to concern. "Are the students still alive?" 

Mephisto smiled. "They are a very skilled group, they survived admirably."

"Lead the way to your medical ward." Osceola said authoritively. "I will need to interview them if they are conscious."

Rin, Ryuji and Konekomaru exchanged looks. "Actually sir, we are all here now if you want to talk." Rin spoke up nervously.

Osceola visibly startled. 

"I did say they were a skilled group did I not?" 

"Oi!" Rin said as he rounded on Mephisto. "Quit it you clown! This is a serious situation."

"Rin-chan, you have been so good all day and you chose now to be a brat. Tsk, your timing leaves much to be desired."

"I'm not being a brat!" Rin ground out from between clenched teeth. "It's not your ass on the line here!"

Mephisto abruptly gave Rin a cold look. "Believe what you like, I can neither comfort you with platitudes nor deny your accusation but I would think by now you should be able to discern the truth of the matter independently."

"You are right, that was bratty of me and I'm sorry. I just don't appreciate your attitude, this isn't a joke to me."

Mephisto's eyes narrowed. "Very well." he turned to Osceola who had been watching their by play with a calculating expression. "As this is a most serious matter let's proceed directly to the scene of the incident."

Mephisto strode down the hallway brusquely and stopping in front of the class room door he presented a black key with less than his normal enthusiasm.

"I took the liberty of temporarily stopping time so as to preserve the physical evidence." he turned the key in the lock and opened the door. "The scene was altered minimally to extract Paige Miwa Konekomaru and Paige Sugaro Ryuji from their improvised fortification.

Mephisto continued to speak as he stepped into the room. 

"Paige Okumura Rin took the offensive position as knight while Paige Miwa Konekomaru and Paige Sugaro Ryuji recited arias"

Osceola stopped in shock at the state of the room and immediately looked for traces of human blood among the various puddles and smears of demon effluvia. 

"This is unbelievable!" he said in a quiet voice. "How many demons were there?"

Rin shrugged his shoulders. "To be honest sir, I lost count."

"Between Miwa-kun and I we could probably recreate a list of demons by type but I couldn't hazard a guess at their numbers as some of them were swarm or hive types." Ryuji said calmly.

Osceola crouched down to examine some scorch marks in the floor. "Injuries?" he asked distractedly.

At this Yukio spoke up. "Potter-san and I treated Sugaro-san and Miwa-san for exhaustion and multiple shallow lacerations. Sir Angel treated Okumura-san for a beholder disintegration wound."

Osceola turned around to stare at Rin. "Where!? Show me!"

Rin loosened his tie, unbuttoned his collar and bared the right side of his neck. The skin was pink and angry looking but it was already well on its way healing without issue.

Arthur stepped forward with an angry expression. "I healed the wound myself; a few centimeters deeper and that trainer would have been responsible for killing my apprentice."

Osceola recoiled slightly. "Naken? Apprentice!? Since when do you have an apprentice?"

Arthur smiled dangerously. "Since I was so impressed by Paige Okumura's dedication to team work, stalwart defense of his class mates and exceptional demonstration of skill."

Seeing Osceola's skeptical look Arthur continued in a softer voice. "Osceola, Rin pinned down a Beholder long enough for his classmates to sing it's fatal verse. There aren't many ranked exorcists who could pull that off without casualties. He has more than earned my regard."

Osceola sighed and crossed his arms while he kicked the heel of his boot lightly against the floor. 

"I hope you realize that This is going to be a shit show Arthur." he held his hand up. "But if you think the Okumura boy is worth the effort I will back you up, spawn of Satan or not."

Arthur clapped him on the shoulder affectionately.

Lewin stepped up with a concerned look. "Do you really think this is going to turn into a inquiry hearing."

Osceola turned to Mephisto. "What do you think Sir Pheles, politics are typically your area."

Mephisto smiled slyly. "I can't claim any foreknowledge but I can say that the Grigori will need to call an open session for two reasons. One, without at least the illusion of complete transparency the Paladin's decision to take Okumura Rin, widely known as the manifested biological son of Satan, as his apprentice is going to tear the order apart." 

"Of course there are many to forget or choose to simply ignore that Rin-chan was raised as the adopted son of the former Paladin Shiro Fujimoto and while he did not receive the same training early on as an exorcist that his brother did, his open nature and stalwartness of spirit is surely a product of Shiro-kun's parenting."

"Secondly, they are going to want the opportunity to expose any trickery on my behalf in as public a form as possible so they can castigate and wring confessions from me. I can say that they will be sorely disappointed, while my reputation is at times deserved at no time have I deviated from the interests of the order. If anything the tamers who took part in the attack owe me retribution for impinging on my rights in my own territory."

Osceola nodded. "Speaking of the accused, where are they."  

Mephisto smirked. "Oh, they were a tripping hazard cluttering up the hall so I moved them into a temporary holding cell. Would you like me to recall them?"

Osceola waved him on and Mephisto stepped a few feet into the hallway.

EINS, ZWEI, DRIE! snap POOF!

A pile of exorcists, still tied up in ridiculous pink and white polka dot ribbons clattered noisily to the floor groaning.

"Very cute." Osceola said flatly. "What happened to that man?" He asked pointing to a larger blond exorcist who was a little grey in the face and breathing shallowly.

"Oh him?" Mephisto asked mildly. "I think he may have some broken ribs."

Arthur interjected before Osceola could ask. "I authorized the use of force to apprehend them and Light and Sir. Pheles responded appropriately given the situation."

Osceola looked like he would challenge Arthur's declaration for a moment but then he sighed and shook his head. 

"They brought this upon themselves with their foolish actions. It seemes to me that this was a vicious attempt to murder Okumura-san." Glancing at a stone faced Yukio. "Okumura Rin specifically, they are lucky he and his class mates were skilled enough to repel the attack. As it is, they will only be brought up on charges of attempted manslaughter, which is still quite serious but at least everyone is alive."

Lewin nodded his agreements with Osceola's assessment of the situation. "Did you bring a recovery team or do you need help shifting these assholes?"

Osceola sighed through his nose. "Help would be appreciated. I wrongly assumed this was a discipline matter concerning one or two men, not an entire inspection team with the exception of one or two individuals."

Mephisto nodded. "I take it the exorcists we dispatched back to headquarters were already debriefed?"

"Yes but I think I will have them recalled for further questioning before they have a chance to hide their complicity." Osceola pulled out his phone. "If you will excuse me a moment I will go ahead and get that order underway."

While Osceola walked off speaking quietly in rapid fire Spanish Rin sidled up to Arthur.

They stood next to each other watching Mephisto adjust the detained exorcists restraints for a few moments. It looked like Mephisto was setting it up so the exorcists would still be fettered but able to walk on their own and was allowing them to sit up or lay down as they wished.

As the silence stretched on Rin finally got up the nerve to say something.

"What would you like me to do now Sensei?" Rin asked quietly.

Arthur shrugged still watching Mephisto intently. "Go home, take a nap. Are you still making dinner at 6?"

"Yeah, sure!" Rin smiled. "That's the plan."

"Excellent. Lewin and I will be there unless something dramatic happens but with Osceola heading the investigation we should have at least 24-48 hours before we are summoned."

Arthur turned his attention to Rin and was struck by his open, earnest enthusiasm over something so simple as preparing a meal for his friends. Arthur felt a little glow of happiness rise up inside him.

Without a doubt he knew in his soul that today he had lived up to his wings and had saved a least one more child from eternal damnation.

"Rin-chan, may I see your cell phone?" Arthur held out his hand expectantly.

"Uh yeah, sure." Rin handed it over and watched curiously as Arthur entered several numbers and then copied some contacts to his phone.

Arthur handed Rin back his phone. "I have given you my emergency contact numbers, both official and personal as well as my cell number. I also set you up with Lewin and Osceola's cell numbers in case you need to reach them."

Arthur turned his phone to show Rin his contact list. "I've added you and Yukio-chan as well as Sugaro-kun since I have a feeling I will be seeing him frequently in the future. If any of you need anything, especially regarding Harry-chan please do not hesitate to call."

Seeing that Osceola had just finished his phone call Arthur called out. "Do you need the Paiges to hang around?"

Osceola shook his head. "No, we need to get these suspects into a cell as soon as possible."

Osceola looked hopefully at Arthur. "I would like the opportunity to take individual statements later this evening. Is that at all possible?"

Arthur turned to Rin. "Is one more for dinner all right?"

Rin shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, as long as he won't have a problem with mixed company."

Osceola snorted. "I think I can manage."

Rin smiled slowly. "All right then, see you all at 6!"

Arthur called out to his partner. "Lewin are you done with Ryuji for the moment?"

"Yeah, anything else can wait until later." Lewin said cheerfully.

Mephisto saw where they were going with their conversation. "Paiges and Exorcist Okumura, you are dismissed back to dorm. We will see you this evening for dinner so take the next couple of hours to rest and freshen up."

Yukio sighed in relief and followed his brother, his familiar and their friends out the hall door and into the late afternoon sunlight. At the threshold Yukio hesitated before he turned back to face the hallway. He stood perfectly framed in the open doorway, the back lighting giving the impression that he was emanating an ethereal golden glow. "I....thank you....everyone." he said simply before bowing and shutting the door.

The sudden loss of light cast the hallway back into murky gloom.

Osceola stared thoughtfully at the door Yukio left out of for a moment before speaking his mind. 

"I may be wrong, considering I am rarely in the Japanese branch and have only met Exorcist Okumura a handful of times, but it seems to me that Exorcist Okumura resembles his brother, who actively carries the demonic blood of Satan, very closely."

He watched Arthur and Lewin shift subtly while Mephisto sat on thin air, crossing his legs and smiling eerily like he was preparing to watch an entertaining show.

Osceola waited patiently for someone to take up the opening he left conversationally. Mephisto pinned him with a knowing look and Lewin was too experienced in the art of extracting information to crack.

That left Arthur as the weak spot. Osceola watched Arthur become increasingly agitated with mild amusement.

Finally his patience paid off.

Arthur produced his wand and cast a "Muffliato." excluding the exorcist detainees despite the fact they were still deafened and blindfolded. 

Arthur rounded on Osceola agitatedly. "I know you to be a man of your word but I need to know that if I take you fully into my confidence what I tell you will not make it back to the Vatican. If you cannot give me a guarantee than I will give you the 'official' story and we will leave it at that."

Osceola considered his position and came to a decision. "I said I would support your choice and I mean it. I feel that I can do so better if I have the full story but I will need to know the official version as well so I can say the right things."

"Very well." Arthur crossed his arms. "I will try to be brief."

"The official story is that summoning a powerful familiar last Friday awakened some of Yukio's latent demon traits. His physical appearance was altered but he is to be cleared for duty on my authority."

Arthur pulled a lock of his long golden hair over his shoulder and twirled it absently. 

"That is a part of the truth but certainly not everything that could be said on the subject. Yukio's familiar is someone who, if you do not recognize by sight you may recognize by name. Have you ever heard of Harry Potter?"

Osceola nearly choked on his own spit. "Impossible! You must be mistaken."

Arthur gave Osceola a angry look. "I think I can recognize my own sister when I see her."

"¡Dios mío!" Osceola breathed. "I thought the firebird was his familiar. I admit I didn't look much at the young lady even though Exorcist Okumura said her name, it just didn't come together in my mind!"

Arthur scoffed. "The firebird is Harry-chan's bonded vassel as of lunchtime today. A defector from the legions of Lucifer."

Osceola frowned. "She looks human and she is somehow a powerful demon?"

"She may not look like much but she exhibits not only a phenomenal grasp of wandless magic with a truly terrifying level of raw power she is also a quick and agile swordswoman." Lewin spoke speculatively. "Her demonic form is gorgeous and simultaneously terrifying; very nearly what one would expect an angel to look like if you were to go based off the popular medieval depictions."

Mephisto laughed openly. "So called angelic visions that were nothing more than delirium caused by acute heavy metal poisoning. Harry-chan is a human born decendant of Lilith, as are your people Arthur-sama. Her demon blood was awakened by fate, circumstance and some terribly powerful artifacts. What she is now, for better or worse, cannot be undone."

Arthur nodded his agreement. "Mephisto is correct. Yukio pulled her from the void of limbo and she is absolutely devoted to him. Rin also summoned her and she is similarly attached to him though I suspect Yukio is still the primary bond. Both Okumura twins carry a reciprocal bond and are marked by her sigil."

Arthur brushed his hair back over his shoulder. "It is vitally important that the Grigori tolerate the Okumura's with equanimity or the organization that we have sworn to serve will cease to exist."

"She is that powerful?" Osceola said with surprise.

Mephisto smiled secretively as Lewin and Arthur nodded uncomfortably.

"I think she would do it too." Lewin said softly. "She flat out told Arthur that she would if it came down to it. Whatever it took to keep Yukio and Rin safe, even if that meant killing a god."

Osceola groaned. "Okeh, all right, so they are untouchable upon pain of cataclysm. You also mentioned the Okumura's are twins? How so, I always thought Yukio was the older brother which is why he was training as an exorcist. I was surprised it took so long for Rin to start."

Mephisto snickered. "Yukio would love to hear that!"

Arthur cast him an annoyed look and hastened to explain. "Rin and Yukio are identical twins. Rin is older than Yukio but that is mostly a technicality."

Mephisto sobered up from his fit of giggles. "Yukio was trained as an exorcist at a very young age to help him cope with his ability to see demons. Poor Yukio thought he was crazy until Shiro-kun finally brought him into True Cross. He has been able to hear and see demons his whole life while Rin could not because his powers were sealed in a demon sword."  

"Identical twins but only Rin's powers were sealed?" Osceola asked incredulously.

Arthur and Lewin looked towards Mephisto who heaved a put upon sigh. "In my defense it was a terrible day and I wasn't thinking clearly when I warded the sword. The seal is completely removed now and according to Harry-chan everything is fine, no lasting damage."

Arthur snorted. "Give credit where credit's due, without Harry you wouldn't have been able to fix your mistake."

Mephisto gave Arthur a flat look. "Without Harry I wouldn't have needed to because Yukio would have stayed safely human."

Lewin shook his head. "We heard what she said when she told you to dismantle the seal. Do you think Satan would have left him alone just because he was weakened by the uneven binding? Exorcist Okumura has always been just a little too smart, a little too fast, a little too resilient for him to be totally human. We chose to ignore what was right in front of us because it was an inconvenient truth."

Arthur placed his hand on his partners shoulder in a show of solidarity. "Lewin is right. Yukio did not hesitate to draw his side arms to defend Harry when he thought I was a threat. There is no doubt in my mind, he would have shot me if I hadn't backed down. It struck me when he showed me his mastery of the blue flames just how much we have completely fucked up. Rin is a mostly unknown entity because he has been sheltered from the truth for so long."

Arthur dropped his arm and grasped Caliburn's hilt. "What I have seen of Rin so far is an open minded, curious young man with a passionate heart who feels deeply and compassionately. He will make a fine and noble knight because he will be just and kill only when it is necessary. Yukio on the other hand, is just as passionate and feels just as deeply but his nature is closed off and obsessive. Behind his genteel demeanor and disarming smile there is a man who is capable of absolute ruthlessness and incalculable cruelty if pushed far enough to feel justified in his actions. He is no villain, but he is a well trained killer and it is not hyperbole to call him a genius."

Mephisto grimaced. "I hate admit it but he has outmaneuvered even me in the recent past. For all of his 15 years you would think he had been honing his particular brand of backhanded brutal honesty for an age. Frankly Lewin, I was surprised you never considered him for an apprenticeship."

Lewin smiled thinly. "You can't teach someone who already knows the tricks of the trade. You forget he was raised up by Shiro-kun who was one of the slipperiest bastards out there. I'm pretty sure the Grigori were going to try to haul you in on trumped up charges of conspiring with Shiro-kun to aid the forces of Satan but when they started pulling records they found that he did everything above the board and in plain sight. Yuri, their mother, had officially changed her surname from Egin to Okumura before they were born so they come by the name honestly. Even their birth certificates don't pull any punches, under birth father it says "god of hell"."

Mephisto burst out into demented cackling laughter and slid to the floor in an undignified heap. "Ah ha ha....huh huh....Shiro-sama.....Mit dir kann man Pferde stehlen!" 

In a heartbeat the tenor of Mephisto's laughter changed and he found himself wiping his teary eyes with the back of his gloves. 

He stared blearily at the dark spots on the lavender suede. "Ah....verdammt....please excuse the fit of.....schadenfreude.....I'm not typically so....." he waved a gloved hand in air.

Arthur frowned. "It's fine....it's just I don't think I have ever seen you emote honestly before today."

"Ah well, we have delightful Harry-chan to blame for that recent development. I haven't yet decided if I mind too terribly." Mephisto said with a shrug. 

"The novelty hasn't worn off as of yet."

Lewin nodded. "I experienced something similar with Arthur. The intensity doesn't go away but your control will improve with time."

Mephisto smiled brilliantly. "How delightful!."

Osceola wondered at the strangeness of demons and demon kin before he coughed politely to interrupt. "You mentioned that Yukio has active control of the blue flames. With the sword unbound should I assume Rin does as well."

Arthur nodded. "Yes but it is more complicated than that. Yukio, Rin and Harry are all blue flame wielders independent of each other and most importantly, independent of Satan."

"You were able to verify this directly?" Osceola questioned sharply.

"Yes. Harry-chan has very fine control. She was able to conjure her flames directly into my hands and adjust their temperature to be pleasantly warm. I was able to handle them without maintaining physical contact with her, which is no mean feat of skill." Arthur paused to consider how best to explain the rest.

"Yukio has less fine control but he has strong will and is highly focused. He allowed his flames to travel over my skin and was able to modulate their temperature to be cool to the touch. Rin seems to be entirely undisciplined but he surprised me; his method for taking out the demons this afternoon, once he realized his classmates were getting overwhelmed, was to blow them up individually using small controlled flames. The scorch marks you were looking at earlier were most likely due to secondary ignition of incidentally flammable gasses within some of the necrotized demons."

"And their power individually? Collectively?" Osceola probed.

Lewin looked to Mephisto who returned his look with a calm serene expression. "Ummmmm, it's hard to say."

"Fawkes, the Phoenix, freaked out and tried to purify Harry when she shifted into her demon form for the first time in front of him. Obviously she was more than capable of resisting the powers of a Seraph."

"Together, the three of them managed to melt a hole nearly 20ft down, through solid rock and turn all the tiles overhead liquid, while Mephisto was unbinding the sword, and that was with a containment barrier erected by the Seraph, and the three of them actively trying to control the backlash from the seal releasing. So I think it's fair to say that any one of them alone is capable of wide scale destruction."

"In my opinion Rin is the most likely to blow up emotionally, Yukio is the most likely to be lethal and Harry has more power and experience to throw around and is likely to be the most destructive overall. The three of them together working in unison........"

"Would be equivalent to Lucifer self immolating at the least. Something on the scale of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, humankind would be hard pressed to survive." Mephisto finished somberly.

Osceola sighed. "A shit show Arthur, an absolute shit show."

Lewin shrugged. "On the plus side they are all firmly pro Assiah; they don't want their home wreaked anymore than we do."

Arthur nodded. "Yukio has expressed to me his personal concern about the enaction of Armageddon protocols should the Vatican declare war on himself and his brother."

"How would he know anything about that!?" Shock painted Osceola's features nearly white for a second.

Lewin chuckled. "The brat cracked the Paladin's cipher years ago. He brought up Jacob's Ladder if that gives you any context."

Osceola stared silently for a moment. "He would have been seven. A seven year old cracked the most difficult cipher in the order......why is he only a Middle First Class Exorcist!?"

Arthur sighed. "I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that he is 15 and far outstrips exorcists twice his age. Rin has a bit of a learning curve to overcome but it looks like he is going to be another young talent. They are going to be dealing with animosity from all sides but frankly it is too dangerous to discontinue their training. Even though Yukio is a ranked exorcist there is still much he needs to learn about living and without his father he's a little unmoored, they both are."

"Someone has to step in, not so much as a father figure, I don't believe they would tolerate that level of interference at all." Lewin stated plainly.

"Agreed, they need mentorship, elders who are willing and capable of being there for them in word and deed without strings attached." Osceola said firmly. "I will help you in this endeavor. And yes, I am also talking to you Mephisto; you try to hide behind your humor but you truly care for them."

"That I will not deny here and now, but they also know how divided my loyalties are. It was Yukio who suggested that we maintain bonds of brotherhood without entering into a more formal agreement, because in his words I am "walking a knife's edge." Mephisto laughed humorously. "He is remarkably perceptive."

Osceola nodded. "We all have similar situations where we cannot individually be there all the time for all things. I propose we keep the lines of communication open and agree to step in and help each other help them as needed. If nothing else then as an extension of our oaths to protect Assiah from any threat be it external or internal."

"Agreed!" Arthur said fervently echoed by Mephisto and Lewin's less enthusiastic but no less sincere assent.

"Good." Osceola nodded. "Now lets get these prisoners transfered. I don't want to miss dinner because of this crap." 

Arthur swiftly dispelled his muffliato and stretched his arms. "All right then, let's get this over with. Anyone mind if we do this the easy way?"

Arthur received shrugs and no's all the way around. He chanted "Petrificus Totalus" and "Mobilicorpus maxius". 

As the entire group of prisoners rose into the air en masse Arthur calmly walked them forward. "Someone get the door for me?"

"My pleasure." Mephisto said with a bow.

"You know, I don't think Arthur has realized this, but he is going to make quite the impression waking into headquarters like that!" Osceola said in clear amusement.

Lewin just laughed and closed the door behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY :::waves arms in air::: Arc Knight Redarm, w00t! I love that guy, so chill, so ready to stomp a mudhole in the nearest person who needs a physical attitude recalibration. 
> 
> Good stuff man.
> 
> I hear you wondering 'why are all these high ranking Exorcists being so chill about demons and stuff?'.
> 
> Generationally they would be slightly after Shiro and would have been taught similarly. Granted we have no idea exactly how the Asylum would play into that but I have taken liberties because I figure that by now they would be accustomed to the idea that not everything non human is automatically bad.
> 
> This is especially true of Arc Knight Redarm and Arc Knight Light in manga canon.
> 
> Manga Angel is fiercely anti-demon but it seems like a knee jerk reaction, like he hasn't given much thought to his prejudice because he's an exorcist so it's *obviously* justified (smh).
> 
> Angel-Delacour has had to face the fact that regular plain old vanilla humans can be absolutely evil and cruel w/out demonic influence and because of his heritage there would be those who *could* make the argument the he is a demon and evil, despite his good deeds and dedication to the order.
> 
> Angel-Delacour is just a little bit more self aware and has lived through more personally damaging shit (that he can actually remember) than manga Angel; this makes him not only a more sympathetic character but also one who is actually good. 
> 
> Manga Angel goes through the motions, Angel-Delacour walks his talk.
> 
> Translation Notes:
> 
> "¡Dios mío!” = My god!  (Spanish)
> 
> Mit dir kann man Pferde stehlen! = I could steal horses with you! (German)
> 
> verdammt = damn, or damn it (German)
> 
> Scheiße = shit! (German)     
> 
> Naken- what?/ say again? (Muscoge)


	23. Much Ado About Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio gets a migraine level headache, those anti demon wards are vicious and Yukio isn't used to feeling them. But don't worry, Harry and Rin make him feel all better in the bath.
> 
> Rin heads down to start dinner in the meantime Yukio and Harry have a heart to heart talk, things do *not* go as expected. 
> 
> (Too bad Mephisto isn't there for this one, he would have the perfect laugh and one liner ready to go!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wrote this story to challenge myself, now I am revising it to challenge myself further. Any changes are purely intentional, thanks for your understanding!

The walk back to the dorm was a slightly somber affair for Yukio. 

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Konekomaru and Ryuji made an attempt to carry on a conversation with Harry via Rin about her early adventures with Fawkes the Phoenix.

The aforementioned bird preened and cooed everytime his name was mentioned. If Yukio didn't know the bird was actually capable of human speech no matter how garbled, he would have probably thought it was cute. But ever since Mephisto had literally rung a confession out of the fancy feather duster Yukio had been struggling with conflicting feelings.

On one hand Fawkes was a powerful ally who had saved Harry's life on numerous occasions for nothing more than peeled grapes and affection. On the other hand the bird hurt her, and then had the audacity to try to avoid taking blame. Granted, in the end he seemed truly remorseful, but Yukio was having a hard time letting go of the physical sensation of Harry in that much pain.

Just when he thought he was over it and he might be able to forgive the demon bird he got this phantom twinge that took him straight back to that moment.

He sighed and resolved to see if Kamiki-san and Paku-san wanted to entertain the pretty bird so he could get a few minutes with Harry alone, to reassure himself that she was actually well....and Rin also needed to be checked over, dammit!

What a fucking awful day. 

Despite the seemingly non stop drama there were some definite positives that came out of it. Having the Paladin and two Arc Knights on their side nearly qualified as an act of providence.

He was going to have to remember to tell Shiemi-chan that she was so very right about Harry-chan. All around her the implausible suddenly became the most obvious solution and it was turning all his assumptions on their head.

Yukio was fairly certain that Mephisto was feeling similarly discomfited by her dynamic influence. It was obvious that they had sex the night before, and based on some of Harry's comments it was easy to assume Amaimon was involved as well.

Yukio had to stifle a wildly inappropriate giggle over the idea that Mephisto may have met his match in Harry and had inadvertently bitten off more than he could comfortably chew. He was sure it was a non issue with Amaimon who was a very much an "in the moment" personality with a limited range of emotional expression.

But for Mephisto, the demon who prides himself on being in control of every minute detail to the point where you often don't realize you are being maneuvered by him until weeks after the fact, Harry's visceral and terrifying unpredictability must feel strangely liberating.

For a moment Yukio tuned back into the conversation that the others were having before realizing that hearing everything Harry said twice, once in English and once in Japanese, was making his headache worse.

Thankfully the walk to the dorm wasn't far from the cram school, one of the few subtly considerate acts of Mephisto, and the building quickly came into sight.

Yukio could have cried in relief as he passed through the wards into the main entryway until his headache flared painfully and he clamped his eves shut.

Despite his efforts to shut everything out and focus on breathing through the pain taking front and center in his mind, he still automatically cataloged what was happening around him.

Ryuji and Konekomaru said they were going to take a nap and walked down the hall.

Rin mumbled something about running a bath and went upstairs.

Yukio felt Harry shift besides him when she realized that he wasn't moving anywhere.

"Are you ok Yuki?" She asked quietly.

Yukio would have shook his head no but the idea of moving too quickly made him feel weak and nauseous.

"Methinks tis a pain of the gulliver." Fawkes chirped helpfully.

Yukio felt Harry pull his glasses off and sighed as her hands touched his face.

"You look flushed but your body temperature seems normal. Let's get you upstairs, I'm dying to get out of this uniform."

Harry pulled on his hands and he found himself letting her lead him with his eyes shut.

For a moment he braced himself for the difficult task of climbing the stairs before he realized that she was towing him along like he was a balloon, and the barely there warmth on his shoulder was where Fawkes was gripping him lightly.

It was the matter of minutes for them to get to the sixth floor and as the warm wet air hit his face he realized that Harry was bringing him into the bath as opposed to the bedroom.

"Thanks Fawkes, I've got it from here. I will call you if I need you, till then enjoy your nap."

The bird trilled and poofed away, presumably to Harry's room.

Harry squeezed Yukio's hand for a second. "Stay here, I will be right back."

Harry felt bad for interrupting Rin in the bath but Yukio was in so much pain he was damn near comatose and she figured Rin could probably feel it and would be seeking him out in a minute anyway.

Like a conjuration Rin popped around the divider between the locker room and bathing facilities proper soaking wet, in a towel, and startled slightly to see her.

"Harry, what's wrong with Yukio?" Rin asked with a worried tone.

"He's got a nasty headache. I brought him in with me because I wasn't sure what would help."

"Ah. This used to happen when we were younger. It's a stress headache, it will go away once he relaxed some. Will you help me get him in the bath?"

Harry nodded and walked back over to where Yukio was standing silently with his heads in his hands.

Between the two of them they made short work getting a limp Yukio out of his school uniform leaving him in a pair of no nonsense boxer shorts.

Harry hesitated for a second and then divested herself of her garments down to her bra and panties, to much blushing and squirming on Rin's part.

Harry misread Rin's embarrassed arousal as bashfulness. "I'm sorry for assuming, I can leave if you like."

Rin shook his head. "No that's not it." he said awkwardly. "You are.....I'm...."

He made a small frustrated sound and secured his towel more firmly.

Harry let a small smile grace her features briefly. "We are here to take care of Yukio." She moved purposefully keeping her attention on Yukio to spare Rin any further embarrassment. 

Yukio allowed himself to be tugged and guided forwards. He was unsurprised when his feet left the ground a second time as Harry levitated him into the bath.

"That's a handy trick." Rin said quietly.

Harry "mmmmm humm'd" as she let the water take Yukio's body weight. His natural buoyancy allowed her to sit behind him and massage his neck and shoulders without needing much support.

Rin went to work rubbing his feet and any conscious thought that Yukio may have had at that point was dissolved by the feeling of being suspended in a warm wet hug.

"Everything ok Yuki?" Harry asked lowly.

"Mmmmmm good." Yukio sighed.

Rin shot Harry a smirking glance and Harry had to stifle a laugh at how Yukio was nearly boneless in seconds.

Yukio's lassitude gave Harry an idea. "Rin, I would like to try something, I can talk you through your end of things."

Rin nodded. "Sure, just tell me what to do."

"I need you to move up between Yuki's legs so his thighs are over and supported by your arms. Your hands need to be palm up, supporting his low back, next to, but not touching his tail."

Rin nodded and slowly worked his way into position by moving his hands up the back of Yukio's legs using short firm stokes.

"I'm there." he said quietly.

"All right. Now I am going to move my finger tips to the base of head at the top of his neck. All I need you to do at first is hold him still to give a little resistance. Keep your pressure light and away from his tail until I tell you overwise."

Rin nodded and Harry shut her eyes. She focused on feeling for the subtle involuntary contractions of Yukio's neck muscles and separating them out from the deeper slower pulse she was looking for. She balanced Yukio's head on her fingertips and allowed him to tilt back further.

Yukio felt a rush of energy sweep through him, from the top of his head straight through to the end of his tail, like a wave of tingling feather light touches.

As Harry gently pulled in time with Yukio's natural rhythm against the solid anchor of Rin's hands Yukio felt the energy intensify into a sweeping electric currant that made his toes curl involuntarily.

"Rin, when I tell you to I need you to move your hands together, touching the base of Yuki's tail, and press in firmly."

Harry allowed Yukio to drift, his body hyper aware but his mind on the edge of sleep as she stoked the energy coursing through him into a steady coursing flow.

"NOW RIN!"

As Rin and Harry both pressed firmly into Yukio's flesh the sensation of cascading liquid fire exploded outwards from the center of his body in a wave. Yukio figuratively melted as bright sparks of undulating color painted the backs of his eyelids.

"Fuck!" Rin gasped as he felt the sympathetic tingling in his spine sweep over him as he too convulsed with a cry.

Harry struggled for a moment for control as she shuddered like she had been shocked.

"Harry, what the hell was that?" Rin asked in a shaky voice.

"Central meridian manipulation. Very easy if you can feel or visualize the movement of energy."

Yukio slowly lifted his hands and wiggled his fingers wonderingly. "I feel fantastic! That was amazing Harry, thanks!"

"No problem, I'm just happy you are feeling better!" Harry made a face. "But, I feel gross sitting in this bath water, today has been a exhausting and frankly my scourgify didn't do much for anything other than clothes."

"you both need a wash to be honest. If you are going to do this properly you need to get out of the bath." Rin was already backing towards the showers, clutching his sodden towel with one hand and tantalizingly waving a bottle of body wash with the other.

Yukio stood, looking rediculous as the water drpped from his boxer shorts, and gallantly offered Harry a hand up while she whined about the cold air.

Rin sorted out a short laugh and then startled slightly as his phone went off.

"Oh crap!" Rin rushed over to his phone. "That's my alarm, I need to get down stairs and get dinner started!"

Harry and Yukio watched in a amusement as Rin ran around frantically trying to get his clothes on without dropping his wet towel.

"Remember, dinner at six!" Rin called over his shoulder as he was on his way out.

"Got it!" Harry chirped back as the door shut behind him.

Yukio sighed. "I suppose that means we should probably hurry as well."

Harry shrugged. "Or we could hang out in here until dinner is ready."

"Or until Sugaro-kun gets worried and comes looking for us." Yukio deadpanned.

Harry laughed. "He would get an eyeful if he walked in on us now."

Yukio smiled and leaned over slightly to give her a peck on the shoulder. "Rin left his 3 in one, I'll wash your hair for you."

Harry propped up on her side "Ooooh, you said the magic words, let's do it."

"The magic words? Like abracadabra?" Yukio said playfully while wigging his fingers.

Harry shuddered and the smile dropped off her face.

"Harry, are you ok? Did I say something wrong?" Yukio asked in concern.

Harry blinked and visibly pulled herself together. "That's a word you want to avoid using around magicals."

Yukio looked confused. "What? Abracadabra? I thought that it was a nonsense word?"

Harry nodded. "No, you are right. It is a nonsense word modernly. There is a lot of speculation over the etymology of that word on the muggle side.....the literal translation is something like "I create as I speak" and is far to vague for casting, which is why historically it was inscribed onto amulets. But to a modern magical person.....hearing that word evokes something else entirely."

Harry trailed off for a moment lost in thought.

"The real spell words are Avada Kedavra." Harry trembled slightly, all her previous humor gone.

"Avada Kedavra....desire a corpse?" Yukio translated haltingly.

"The killing curse. No way to counter it, only another living thing or a sufficiently dense physical object can absorb the curse once it is cast. No near misses or miraculous recoveries; the instant the spell touches you, you're dead." Harry said darkly. "Unless you happen to be me."

Harry pushed her hair away from her forehead showing Yukio a faint silvery scar shaped like a lightning bolt. "This it the scar from the first time I survived the killing curse. I was a year old."

Harry let her hair move back before she showed Yukio another scar, this one a short vertical line directly over her heart. "And this is the scar from the second time the curse failed to kill me. I got this one a few hours before I was chucked into limbo."

"I'm sorry." Yukio said sincerely.

"You didn't know, but now you do. Just understand that was a favorite spell used by the Death Eaters to murder people. Almost everyone in wizarding Britain has lost a family member or friend to that spell. It's classified as an unforgivable for a reason."

"Unforgivable? What exactly is meant by that in this context?"

"There are three curses that will earn the caster a lifetime sentence in Azkaban, the wizard prison."

Yukio turned one of the showers on and adjusted the controls until it was pleasantly hot. He quickly got wet and washed his hair while he listened to Harry.

"The killing curse is unforgivable but there is also the torture curse and the control curse." As soon as Yukio was done she stepped into the spray with a contented sigh. Once her hair was wet she sat down on a wooden stool so Yukio could wash it for her.

Working his way through Harry's wine colored strands, Yukio thought about what they had talked about earlier in the day.

"The torture curse. That's what happened to your friend Neville, right?"

"Yeah." Harry said with a small hitch to her voice.

Yukio frowned and let the strands of her hair slip through his fingers. "How does the control curse work?"

"The curse allows the caster to force their will on the victim making them completely susceptible to whatever the caster wants the victim to do. People under the control curse have cheerfully slaughtered their own children, parents, hell, have even killed themselves on command."

Harry snorted. "It takes a strong will to resist the curse and it's nearly impossible to detect if someone is under it's influence. The victim will sometimes have a sort of glassy eyed look, that in combination with out of character behavior can occasionally lead to the identification of a victim. Unfortunately most cases are unable to be verified and it is a favorite get out of jail card for those with enough money to bribe their way out of trouble."

Harry stood once Yukoo finished rinsing her hair. "Here, let me wash your back."

Yukio nodded and leaned against the tile wall. Harry worked up a good lather on an exfoliating cloth. As Harry worked the cloth over Yukio's shoulders she let her bad memories and feelings go and focused on being in the moment. Yukio had lots of tiny moles, almost like freckles dotting his back and Harry imagined she was back in astronomy class trying to find pictures by connecting the dots.

She chased the cloth with her finger tips, creating abstract patterns and strange shapes in soap suds.

Coming down to Yukio's tail she absently changed out the cloth for a hand full of body wash and began working her fingers along the length on his tail.

Harry was focused completely on her task, so much so that she was startled when she looked up to find Yukio looking down at her with a complicated expression on his face.

"Thanks Harry but I have it from here." Yukio stoically rinsed his tail and pretended he wasn't blushing. They both gathered their things, realizing belatedly that neither of them had a towel, Harry snapped of a partial drying charm.

"My hair doesn't like full powered drying charms." She griped by way of explanation. They both donned the majority of their respective clothing and hustled towards Rin and Yukio's room.

Closing the door behind her, Harry dropped her clothes on the floor and launched herself at Yukio with a war cry.

Yukio silently thanked a nameless deity for the fact that neither he nor Rin had bothered to fold up the bed that morning. He dropped the clothes in his arms and smoothly used Harry's momentum to propel her onto the mattress.

"That did not work out the way I imagined it would." Harry said sulkily from the bed.

Yukio chuckled. "Were you hoping for a repeat of Saturday, because you know, even as a Dragoon I'm still rated in hand to hand and close quarters bladed combat." Yukio shrugged. "Bullets don't last forever and I always go out in the field with a couple of knives just in case."

Harry pouted. "You just looked defenseless and I attacked. It's not my fault that you have stupidly fast reflexes."

She paused for a moment considering his comment about bullets. "You know, there are plenty of spells for duplication. Gemino comes to mind, I could try enchanting a clip for you so it's endless. It may not work for rounds that are blessed or pre spelled but that might work on simple phosphorus tipped rounds or regular bullets."

Yukio chuckled and playfully threw a towel at Harry so she could manage her still wet hair. "That's it, you are officially too awesome now. I don't deserve you."

"You deserve more than that, I'm sorry you got stuck with me."

Yukio stilled and looked at Harry thoughtfully. "We are both abnormal people with fucked up childhoods, struggling with situations not of our choosing, cleaning up after other peoples mistakes. If I could do it all again the one thing I would never change is you. I'm not stuck with you so much as we are together in this shit and I can't tell you how much it means to me that you care so deeply."

Yukio sighed and sat on the bed next to Harry. "I love my Nii-san, more than I am supposed to I'm sure. Right now we are learning how to handle each other all over again. Everything is different and in a lot of ways he is struggling to catch up with me. There is a lack of balance in the power dynamic between us, but with you I feel like you can take what I dish out and then some. You are brilliant, funny, kind, strong, powerful, ruthless when needed and utterly terrifying."

Harry smiled softly and then latched onto Yukio using her body weight and momentum to aggressively roll him beneath her. Yukio accepted her dominance for a mment before he used his greater muscle mass to flip her over.

"Not fair! You cant go full demon on me just to win a wrestling match!" Harry shifted her form and pushed him back beneath her. She froze for a moment and then shook her head. She leaned back slightly with her eyes closed while Yukio gave her a questioning look.

"Open your eyes." Yukio whispered. "Look at me."

Harry whimpered, not really wanting to see everything cast in shades of blue, or be overwhelmed by the brightness of his soul.

"Please?" He said softly.

It was the please that undid her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked down at him. Astonished, she was suprised that she could see his features clearly, the blue was still there but the color wasn't overwhelming, just like she could see the powerful white glow of his soul but it wasn't blinding.

She studied his fully demon form for a moment. His features hadn't changed dramatically, like her he had enough human genetics to keep him humanoid looking even in demon form, but every part of him was just, more.

His skin was still smooth and pale, dotted here and there with tiny moles, but he also had sleek dark brown, nearly black fur that dusted the tops of his ears giving them a cute tufted look. His eyes were still bright teal blue but they were slitted like a cat's and as Harry shifted forward she was relieved to discover that the earlier signs of Satan's influence, namely the red in his iris',was gone.

"Do I look all right?" Yukio asked nervously.

"You look like you Yukio." Harry's smile was full of fangs. "A little hairier, more toothsome, a little stronger."

His sharp nails dimpled the skin on the back of her hips as he lifted her effortlessly.

Harry unthinkingly shifted her weight forward and braced herself on Yukio's chest, hands on either side of his demon heart. Her attention was easily drawn to the brightness of his eyes just as she lost her grip on her occlumency shields in her instinctive effort to dominate, throwing her thoughts directly into Yukio's mind.

He was astonished to blink and see himself, frozen in time below himself.

"Woah....." he trailed off.

Harry laughed nervously in front of him. "Whoops?" she said be way of explanation and apology.

"We aren't dead are we?" Yukio asked with mild concern.

"No, we are still attached to our physical bodies." Harry sighed. "I think this is more of an astral projection than a full evacuation of the soul."

She tilted her head down and looked at the energy arcing between, even as the scene was completely frozen.

"I may have panicked and instinctively thrown up a time sphere. You were pulled into it with me because I accidentally legilimensed you." Harry said sheepishly.

"Legilimens?" Yukio asked. "I thought for a moment that I could feel you inside of me, which was actually really nice."

Harry blushed. "It was an accident, but I'm glad you don't mind. I had to use that method to calm you down on Sunday but because you don't have any mental shields worth mentioning I had to be very careful to stay at the edge of your mind. This time I lost control and fell in."

"So this lack of shields, this is a bad thing?" Yukio asked slowly.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. It makes it hard for you to keep others out of your thoughts."

Yukio breathed out a shaky breath. "Satan. That's what you meant when you told Anuie the seal had to be broken. Fuck, I'm so sorry."

"No, no. Please don't feel bad, it's really not your fault." Harry fluttered her ghostly fingers in distress. "I had one of Tom Riddle's soul shards in my head for roughly 14 years, and for most of that time I had no idea."

"I didn't know anything about shields or possession until I was in my third year and I managed to persuade my head of house to train me. He was a defected death eater turned spy and one of the most talented wizards I knew. His understanding of the dark arts was unparalleled and combined with his potions mastery he managed to be a very valuable resource. He was disturbed by how flimsy my mental shields were, not because I was weak, but because it indicated that I had been passively resisting possession for years. The constant stress creates fatigue and the fatigue weakens your resolve until one day, snap. You have crisis of identity and anything can waltz right in."

Yukio stared wide eyed at Harry. "Do you think that's what happened with Tou-san?"

Harry nodded. "If Satan was after him as a vessel as long as you say he was that makes it likely. It also makes me wonder just how human your Father actually was. He would have needed to have some significant demon heritage to be that important of a target for possession. It also explains how Satan may have started to get his hooks into you; your close proximity with your Father during times where he was susceptible, namely high stress situations including times where he killed."

Yukio looked horrified for a moment. "I wonder if he knew, even subconsciously, and that's why he was so determined to keep Rin at arms length. He always seemed like a different person after a job, sarcastic and cold, I always figured it was just a coping mechanism but it seems like a sinister warning sign now."

Harry slumped. "Well shit. What a fuckered conversation to have out of the blue."

Yukio laughed. "It could be a worse conversation, no one died and there is minimal collateral damage."

"True." Harry said wryly. "Are you ready to get back to what we were doing before we got all philosophical?"

"Will we remember this?" Yukio asked worriedly.

"I have always remembered my legilimency sessions with Professor Snape so I don't know how this would be any different." Harry said shrugging.

"Alright then." Yukio nodded.

Harry blew out a breath that she didn't actually have lungs for. "ONE, TWO, THREE, snap!"

Time restarted in a blur of crackling energy and blossoming fire. Harry's dead weight and her warmth soothed him like his favorite childhood blanket. Before he had the sense to rationalize he pulled her more securely against him and relaxed into peaceful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Harry?"
> 
> "Hmmmmm?"
> 
> "Are you awake?"
> 
> "No."
> 
> "I'm going to ignore that for obvious reasons, my sidearms are still in my shoulder holster aren't they?"
> 
> "Yeah, I didn't mess with them and I don't think Rin did either."
> 
> "Fuck! How long do you think we were in the bathroom?"
> 
> "Ummmmm about an hour and half?"
> 
> "Shit! And it was pretty steamy?"
> 
> "Well yeah, I mean yes, there was a lot of steam."
> 
> "Goddammit!"
> 
> "As fun as it is to listen to you mutter obscenities it would be more productive if you just told me the problem."
> 
> "I should really field strip my sidearms and oil them."
> 
> "Ok, and that's a problem how?"
> 
> "I'm still in my demon form!"
> 
> "Well change back!"
> 
> "How?"
> 
> "Ummmmm, hmmmmm. I just kind of visualize my human body and squeeze?"
> 
> "Allright."
> 
> "Nice and gentle! Ow!"
> 
> "I am being nice...."
> 
> "What about your guns?"
> 
> "They can wait."
> 
>  "If you say so....."


	24. Practical Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Ukobach make delicious magic in the kitchen. Shiemi and Amaimon bring the salad, some minor silliness ensues. 
> 
> (Writing this chapter and editing it made me so flipping hungry!)

Rin hurried down the stairs and crossed the wide expanse of the cafeteria with an excited bounce in his steps.

He was still floating emotionally and physically, high on endorphins and the physical exchange of energy. Helping with Yukio had been suprisingly cathartic, healing a wound he didn't even know he was carrying around. The seemingly impossible distance between the two of them was slowly lessening and being able to soothe their mutual hurts was a relief.

He was looking forward to eating dinner with his friends and family, something he could honestly say was a first. The Southern Cross Boys' Monastery had been home when the priests, Izumi, Maruta, Kyodo, Nagatomo, Misumi and their Tou-san were there; Rin cooked for them and considered them family, much like a bunch of goofy uncles. But he never, in all his 15 years actually had friends, the thought was equally bittersweet and heartwarming. 

Try as he might Rin couldn't remember Yukio having a single friend either while they were growing up, so at the very least they were treading in equally unfamiliar waters. As far Rin was concerned Yukio may have known Shiemi longer but he hadn't been really honest to himself about his friendship with her until recently, so he couldn't really count her as a childhood friend. Rin chuckled at how socially retarded he and Yukio were, it was amazing they had even made it this far.

He clipped back his hair, washed his hands, threw an apron on, and started the rice cooker first thing. He then pulled out his knives and a few cutting boards.

He sighed as he rummaged through the fridge pulling put ingredients. He double checked the mackerel steaks, trimming the fillets and cleaning scales as needed, before setting them to soak in a tray of sweet miso based sauce.

Harry aside, the thing that really surprized him was Yukio; boring, buttoned down, work obsessed, super nerd, always in control Yukio was starting to trust him with important things. The fact that he put Shiemi's safety in his hands, that he trusted him to go ahead with Sugaro and Miwa without a fuss, he didn't even lecture him when he got hurt.

Rin paused for a moment as the feelings associated with the memory washed over him. He shuddered lightly as he battered and breaded the chicken cutlets.

He was just starting to picture a scenario where he could possibly get away with talking Yukio into taking a whole day off when the pantry door swung open and Ukobach ambled out with a tray of pre-baked sweet potatoes.

"Hey! Good to see you man!" Rin enthused as he tamped down on his wandering thoughts. "Thanks for the steak on Sunday, and for prepping those pizza ingredients. Everything was delicious!"

The little stove demon smiled widely. "Good to see you too my Prince!"

Rin groaned. "I'm just Rin, none of this prince crap!"

Ukobach tutted. "You are not just Rin anymore, if you ever were. The sooner you realize your place the better. Sir Pheles will shelter you as long as he is able but eventually all younglings have to learn to stand up for themselves."

Rin lowered the chicken into the fryer and checked on the mackerel.

Rin sighed. "Yeah, I guess you are right. I just, I donno....I don't want to be putting on airs?" He grimaced. "It just seems a bit strange to be a Prince of somewhere I have never been and really don't want to have anything to do with."

Ukobach nodded sagely and began peeling the sweet potatos and cutting them into strips for tempura. "Be that as it may, you can't run away from the title. Lesser demons will see it as a weakness and may decide to target your friends because they can't touch you directly as you live under Sir Pheles' protection."

Rin startled slightly. "Really? They would do that?"

Ukobach nodded. "Those types of power plays are common, remember that very few demons hold with the idea that human lives have any intrinsic value. To many of us they are ephemeral, fleeting. They die so easily and are constantly being born so no great loss."

Rin surprised himself when a low threatening growl rattled his chest. "Shit! I'm sorry!" he stepped back deliberately from where he had nearly crowded Ukobach against the countertop.

Ukobach smiled. "No apology needed. That was a good display! You must find your desire, your purpose and you must live it! Take down those that would stand between you and your goals without mercy. Carve out a space in the hierarchy independent of your father's influence. If you cannot be proud to be a prince of Gehenna make yourself a prince of Assiah as well!"

Rin laughed as he slipped the tray of fish under the broiler. "Did Anuie put you up to this?"

Ukobach sniffed and then pulled the chicken out of the fryer with a set of tongs, laying it out on paper towels to drain. "I have my own purpose. You and I share a love of cooking, but we do not cook for the same reasons. I cook to befuddle the senses and satiate the body. My food, when used a certain way, becomes a weapon. Make no mistake, I am very valuable to my master for this reason. You cook to show care for the people who are important to you, to feed their souls on your overflowing love and compassion."

Ukobach gave Rin another fanged grin as he battered the sweet potato and put it into the fryer one slice at a time. "You are actually quite sweet for a demon, my prince. But you also must develop a hardness of spirit that allows you to express your care in other, less passive ways. You must be proactive and establish yourself as someone who is not to be trifled with if you wish to keep your growing family safe."

"Why me, why not Yukio or Harry? They both have way more experience with this sort of thing."

Ukobach turned and regarded Rin seriously. "They are both powerful and experienced, true, but they turn to you for guidance because they are both, at the heart of things, utterly capable killers. Despite being willing and able to kill without thought in the moment they are both still in possession of a conscience. Without you to take responsibility for your actions and theirs going forward they will tear themselves apart with remorse if they are forced to act and cannot justify the need."

Ukobach put on gloves to pull the fish out of the broiler while Rin stared pensively into the middle distance.

Ukobach turned back with a sigh as he covered the fish with foil to let it rest. "I do not tell you this to grieve you. The Vatican hearing is coming and more than humans will be privy to the proceedings. Yukio-chan and Harry-chan are your weapons, your right and left hands. You must decide, ahead of time, how you are going to present a united front while still projecting that you are in control. Sir Angel is your Sensei, yes, but you are his equal in standing even though you are in need of his training. While his support is important it would be unseemly for him to speak for you and your direct subordinates."

Rin nodded slowly. "We need to demonstrate that we are also independent of Anuie, so wearing our school uniforms are out. Harry-chan and Shiemi-chan should play up their connection to their houses and the enclave which will work in our association with Sensei in a way that is more subtle. Shit. We really need to see the goblins, probably right after dinner."

Rin took the sweet potato out of the fryer as Ukobatch began battering and breading the shrimp.

Rin sighed and focused on what he was doing in the moment as he popped the shrimp that Ukobach handed him into the fryer. "So we have broiled miso mackerel, sweet potato tempura, chicken katsu, and tempura shrimp going into the fryer. What else do we want to make?"

"I have mushrooms if that helps!" Shiemi said brighly as she popped around the counter with a basket in her hands. Her hair was held back by a veritable garden's worth of flowers woven in an elaborate crown. Her kimono sleeves were still tied back and the slight smudge of dirt on the side of her nose only added to her cuteness.

Amaimon followed silently behind her carrying a large woven bag, his typical stone faced expression looking slightly relaxed.

"Hey!" Rin called out excitedly. "You guys have perfect timing!"

Shiemi laughed. "We would have been here sooner but Amaimon-chan knew where there were some fabulous mushrooms growing and took me there to pick some."

Rin bowed slightly. "Thank you Oniisan! We have some crab and cheese in the fridge. How do stuffed deep fried mushrooms sound to everyone?"

Amaimon shrugged. "Normally I don't care much for savory dishes but crab is somewhat sweet and I do like mushrooms."

"That sounds great!" Shiemi said with a smile.

Ukobach skipped over to the refrigerator and began pulling out ingredients. "I will make a spicy mayonnaise sauce for dipping!"

Rin laughed. "Oniisan, we have a mostly savory-sweet menu tonight. I hope you find it to your liking!"

Amaimon quirked his lips in what could be considered a smile if you discounted the fact that no other part of his face moved. He removed his gloves, jacket and vest. Rolling up his shirt sleeves he proceed to the sink to help Shiemi clean the produce.

As the mushrooms were washed and dried Shiemi handed them over to Rin who deftly stuffed them and battered them.

Ukobach pulled the shrimp out of the fryer and began dropping the stuffed mushrooms in one by one.

"I think eel sauce would be good on those as well Ukobatch." Rin said after thinking about the sweet, creaminess and the spice. "Just a little umami to balance it out."

Ukobach nodded enthusiastically. "Agreed. I have some prepared up at the main house and I will need to go back to get the dessert tray anyway."

"Dessert?" Amaimon spoke up from the sink with something close to enthusiasm.

"Yes my Lord." Ukobach said. "The Hogwarts house elves sent over a tremendous amount of homemade ice cream so I took the liberty of making mochi ice cream. I have chocolate truffle, honeycomb and raspberry-lemon curd ripple prepared for tonight."

Amaimon nodded and made a satisfied humming sound as he began shredding the vegetables in a large bowl with his claws.

Shiemi got to the bottom of the bag and pulled out two large earthenware jars.

"Ukobach-san, I know we haven't really talked much but Amaimon-chan told me so much about your wonderful cooking that I feel I already know you." She held out one jar and bowed slightly. "This is my homemade fukujinzuke, all the vegetables are from my own garden. Amaimon-chan assured me it was exceptional and I thought you might like your own jar to cook with. I brought the other jar for us to have with dinner tonight."

Ukobach made a surprised little chirp. "Many thanks my Lady! I am sure it will be delicious!" He took the jar from Shiemi's hands with a bow. "My Prince, if you can remove the mushrooms from the fryer when they are finished I can take this to the main house and bring back the eel sauce and dessert?"

"That's fine Ukobach." Rin said with a smile. "See you in a bit."

A peaceful silence decended over the kitchen. Amaimon put the finishing touches on the salad while Shiemi grated carrots for a light ginger dressing. Rin poked the bobbing tempura mushrooms with a chopstick, testing them for doneness as the oil roiled around them.

Rin pulled out another tray to line with paper towels. "I'm going to pull these mushrooms out now and turn off the oil. Then we need to warm the soup in the fridge and we will be ready when Ukobach gets back. Do you guys want to have some tea with me while we wait?"

Shiemi spoke up while Amaimon nodded. "That sounds lovely Rin-chan! I will put the water on."

Rin turned the fryer off and pulled the mushrooms out of the oil and set them aside to drain. He pulled the large soup pot out of the fridge and set it on a low flame. "This should be ready just before everyone shows up. So how was your day?"

Shiemi smiled and began talking excitedly. "Amaimon-chan and I had tea and lunch after we tended to the chores."  

She frowned a little. "Mother didn't even notice we were there, which is probably for the best but was still rather strange. We decided to do some foraging in the woods just out side of campus and.....Rin-chan are you feeling ok? You look really flushed!"

Rin was feeling hot and tingly all of a sudden. He opened his mouth to tell her that he was fine but all that came out was a breathless wheeze. Amaimon was there in an instant, holding him up. Rin eagerly buried himself in Amaimon's arms before biting his chest with a playful growl. Rin shredded away a potion of Amaimon's shirt and lapped at the blood the welled up from the reinjured wound.

Amaimon panted slightly and pet Rin's hair. "First Imouto, then Anuie and now Otouto, my poor abused skin!"

He looked down to where Rin was enthusiastically trying to claw him. A sweet honeyed fragrance caught his attention and he found himself captivated by Shiemi who was bright red and squirming in obvious arousal.

"Otouto, this may not be the best time and place to play." Amaimon said roughly.

Rin stiffened in his arms and gasped. "Oniisan, Shiemi-chan, ah! I'm sorry!"

Rin stepped away from Amiaimon and leaned heavily against the counter, his tail swishing in agitation.

"What was that?" Shiemi said a bit breathlessly.

Rin worked on controlling his breathing. "I think that was backlash from Yuki and Harry."

At this Amaimon frowned. "Their timing is abysmal."

"Agreed! Oniisan, Shiemi-chan, can we get together later and play?" Rin fidgeted while tried to lean nonchalantly against the counter.

Shiemi managed to blush a darker red. "Are you sure you want me involved Rin-chan, Amaimon-chan? I am not very experienced and I might not be very much fun to play with. Also, I'm not very strong, you will have to be careful with me."

Amaimon blinked in surprise before turning and sweeping Shiemi into a passionate kiss.

"Not helping here guys..." Rin willed his heart to stop racing as Shiemi melted in Amaimon's arms.

Amaimon softly broke the kiss. "See, I can play gently when I want to. Anuie and I both played with Angherad-chan last night and even though she screamed a lot she was just fine afterwards."

Amaimon flashed a brief smirk before his usual stoic disinterest reasserted itself. "Shiemi-chan will you accompany me to fetch Angherad-chan and Yukio-chan. We don't want them to miss dinner and it is nearly 6."

Shiemi beamed dazedly at Amaimon and Rin. "Yes, Amaimon-chan, let's go get them!" she giggled slightly. "If we are lucky they haven't gotten dressed yet!"

Shiemi's adorable blutness startled a laugh out of Rin. "Good luck with that and don't get side tracked!"

Shiemi wisely made no promises as she towed a docile Amaimon upstairs by the hand.

"All clear?" Ukobach chirped questioningly from the slightly open pantry door.

Rin startled dramatically. "Ah! Shit!"

Ukobach grinned unrepentantly. "You cast a wide net my Prince." He said with a wink.

"Oh hush!" Rin snapped out irritably. "It's not my fault that Oniisan is hot and Shiemi-chan is so dammed cute!"

Ukobach just chuckled and passed Rin the large stacked container of mochi ice cream to go in the freezer.

Ukobach washed his hands in the sink and Rin followed. "All joking aside let's start plateing. Sir Pheles is on his way now with the Paladin and the Arc knights."

Rin nodded, putting aside his lingering arousal he focused on putting together a beautiful display.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just read chapter 103 of the manga, woo hoo yeah! So good! The cliffiest hanger that ever hung OMG! 
> 
> Just cause I'm feeling the love I may get another Chapter out later today. Hugs!


	25. Wand Wavers, Show Us Your Wood!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner commences and Mephisto decides to let a game piece go. Arthur and Harry show off an uncommon magical technique to varied reactions from their audience.

"This is taking entirely too long." Lewin said quietly to Osceola.

Mephisto found himself silently agreeing as he casually leaned against his umbrella.

Apparently the sight of the Paladin levitating nearly a score of bound and gagged exorcists as casually as if he was taking out the trash, set tongues furiously wagging.

Exorcists began keying in from all over the globe, using any flimsy excuse, just to see if the scuttlebutt was true; either that or they were being purposely waylaid by nonsense.

With Osceola and Lewin flanking him like two formidable bookends Mephisto watched Arthur magnificently terrify all the little peons in the Vatican Main Office without even trying.

Mephisto had to suppress his laughter; usually he was on the receiving end of Aurthr's famously righteous brand of anger and it was a pleasant reversal of fortune to simply be a witness this time around.

Finally fed up with the babbling confusion Arthur's voice cracked over the crowd with all the authority of a bullwhip. "I demand to see the coordinator that assembled this team of exorcists! If that person is not brought to me in the next 15 minutes I will be forced to send Lightning after them!"

A collective shudder passed through the assembled exorcists like a wave.

"I will be waiting in the Cocytus. Good day." Without a backwards glance Arthur strode forward using the levitating exorcists to force a path through the crowd. Mephisto fell in behind him, physically covering Arthur's 6, and extending out a complex shield charm to protect them omnidirectionally.

"Thank you." Arthur said to Mephisto quietly.

"There is something unseemly about that crowd and you are welcome." Mephisto murmured back his now open umbrella held jauntily over his shoulder.

Osceola grunted lowly. "It is not far now."

The four of them walked steadily, the picture of calm authority to any one looking as the black suited rabble floated ahead of them.

They finally reached a security door where Lewin and Osceola scanned their ID cards.

After they both finished scanning the indicator on the lock chimed and turned green. The door slid aside automatically, allowing them to access the outer hall.

"This will do." Arthur said, stopping outside a large holding cell.

Osceola and Lewin again scanned their cards and Arthur deposited the detainees in the cell with a sigh.

"Are you all right Arthur?" Lewin asked with concern as Osceola secured the door

Arthur chuckled ruefully as he shook out his sore wand arm. "I wasn't particularly hungry before, but now I'm ravenous! Dinner had better be good!"

Mephisto snorted as he banished the bindings on the exorcists leaving the sensory deprivation spells in place. "Cooking is the one thing you don't need to teach your new apprentice. He is quite talented in the kitchen and my familiar Ukobach is there to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Excellent." Arthur said distractedly. "Where is that blasted exorcist I requested?"

"Here sir!" A wheezing middle aged man was half running half being carried between two younger exorcists.

"Are you the exorcist that coordinated the inspection team that accompanied me?" Arthur demanded waving Caliburn inches from the poor man's face.

"Oooh Arthur-sama! ♡" Caliburn purred in sensual delight. "He looks so guilty, let me taste him, just a little bite? ♡"

The man paled and carefully shook his head yes while he leaned back to put as much distance between his body and the possessed blade as possible.

"As the assembly of this team was your purview I am charging you with their security until such time as myself, Arc Knight Redarm or Arc Knight Light return." Arthur sheathed Caliburn and continued in a deadly voice. "Any failure on your part will be taken as an admission of guilt and will result in you being tried alongside the prisoners. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." The man affirmed weakly.

Arthur spun on his heel without another word, his white coat with it's multicolored winged cape flared dramatically. As Mephisto fell into his previous position in the walking formation he reflected on the fact that he didn't always like the man, but he had to admit he had style.

As soon as the security door hissed closed Arthur's straight backed authorative stride relaxed slightly. He blew out an irritated breath and turned to address Mephisto directly. "Get us out of here quickly please?"

"My pleasure!" Mephisto's enthusiasm for Arthur's request was blatantly obvious as he savagely inserted a key into a hapless supply closet door. He pulled it open impatiently and the four of them stepped into his office quickly before they could be intercepted.

Mephisto shut the door to his office behind him with a snap and leaned against it with a sly grin.

Lewin began to chuckle audibly with Osceola quickly following suit. In no time at all the three of them were chortleing heartily as Arthur watched them breakdown with growing confusion.

"What is so funny? I feel like I am missing something important here."

The laughter increased in volume and duration until they were in tears."

Mephisto managed to smother his laughter long enough to explain. "I for one don't hold much stock in the effectiveness of the Statute of Secrecy but how widespread is the knowledge that you Arthur, the Paladin, are also a wizard?"

Arthur opened and closed his mouth a few times before he crossed his arms and assumed a defensive stance.

"I admit I did not consider the Statute before I took action but it can be argued that the Statute is irrelevant for exorcists, regardless of their magical status."

Osceola smilingly clapped Arthur on the shoulder. "Agreed but unfortunately my opinion is not the one that matters here."

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure the ICW are going to have bigger problems to deal with soon." Lewin smirked and clapped Arthur on the other shoulder. "But you have to admit, that was fucking hysterical!"

"Mephisto took advantage of the brief lull in laughter to insert a different key into his office door.

As he opend the door they were immediately assaulted by a multitude of delicious smells.

Rin smiled and waved them through from the pantry into the cafeteria. "You guys have great timing, I am just about ready to lay out the food. Anuie, would you mind checking in with Nii-san and Harry-chan upstairs. I sent Oniisan and Shiemi-chan to bring them down but ummm..."

Mephisto chuckled as Rin trailed off with a blush."I would be delighted to retrieve them on your behalf. If I'm not down in five minutes just wait longer." He sing songed as he sashayed away.

Arthur looked disturbed while Lewin was absolutely amused.

Lewin smiled and shook his head. "Osceola, why don't you come with me to get the rest of the students. We will make my apprentice introduce us to the girls which should be good for a laugh. Ryuji is so uptight it will be fun to watch him stumble all over himself."

"Fine." Osceola said simply, his usual unruffled calm back in full force, before he crossed the room following behind Lewin.

Arthur grimaced at the train wreak of his thoughts; having headstrong older sisters was sometimes a struggle. It's not that he was embarrassed by Harry per-se, it's just that she kept surprising him with her adult behavior. Although if he was younger he wouldn't have batted an eyelash, Veela were known for being rather open and adventurous lovers. Perhaps he was getting a bit stagnant in his old age. Arthur snorted, 30 wasn't exactly old, perhaps it was his vow as a Paladin wearing him down.

"Are you all right Sensei?" Rin asked quietly. "You look a little paler than usual."

Arthur coughed slightly. "I am a bit tired from sustaining a prolonged levitation spell and am really looking forward to dinner."

"Here, sit down. Let me serve you some soup and tea while we are waiting." Rin maneuvered Arthur into a chair and after stepping into the kitchen for a moment he set a warm bowl of soup in front of him.

"Here Sensei." Rin said excitedly. "It should be mostly broth so go ahead and drink up."

Arthur picked up the bowl in his hands and took a tentative sip of the light colored broth. He hummed appreciatively as the rich saltiness hit his tongue and in no time at all he made it through the entire bowl. He sighed in satisfaction as he moved on to a fragrant cup of green tea.

"Better?" Rin asked as he took the bowl to the sink.

"Incredibly enough, yes. Thank you Rin-chan." Arthur said sincerely.

Rin beamed with happiness before he took on a serious expression. "Sensei if you don't mind helping me set out the food I would like to also discusses a serious matter with you."

Arthur stood. "Just tell me what goes where and go ahead with what you need to talk about."

Rin led the way into the kitchen. "I need some advice on how to present our side at the hearing. Not verbally but physically."

Ukobach nodded happily and gave Arthur a cheerful wave from where he was arranging tempura shrimp into gravity defying towers. "These plates are ready go out my Prince."

"Thank you Ukobach." Rin said smoothly and began carrying out plates with individual servings of grilled fish and mounds of rice garnished with Shiemi's colorful fukujinzuke.

"It has been brought to my attention that there will be more than just humans watching the proceedings and I need to be sure we send the right message so that we are not opening ourselves up to attack." Rin said seriously.

Arthur was surprised at the direction Rin was taking with regards to the hearing. He had expected to simply speak on behalf of his apprentice but the little stove demon's off handed use of Rin's title was a sharp reminder of how politically complicated the situation actually was. Arthur followed behind Rin, laying out dishes where indicated.

"What message do you think you need to project?" Arthur asked with genuine curiosity.

Rin carefully moved artfully arranged platters of food into symmetrical balance along the table, flanking the main dishes with mouthwatering towers of deep fried goodness and their accompanying sauces.

Rin made another trip into kitchen and emerged with a tray of delicate looking bowls of salad.

After a closer look Arthur noticed that nestled in each bowl of salad was a single, massive crab stuffed deep fried mushroom, fairly oozing with cheese, sliced open and topped with sauce and finely minced green onion.

Rin smiled at Arthur's obvious appreciation of the food. "It's not the healthiest menu but I was craving tempura and then Shiemi-chan and Oniisan brought me fresh mushrooms so they ended up tempura as well."

Putting the tray down on an empty table Rin began laying out the salad bowls in their individual places.

"To answer your question Sensei we need to fomalize your relationship with Harry-Chan and Shiemi-chan as quickly as possible. After dinner would be ideal assuming that Oniisan is up to a trip to the goblin bank this evening."

Arthur looked worried. "My older sister Fleur works for the Goblins and she certainly has the authority to finalize my request. I hadn't thought about it but as Moriyama-san is Harry-chan's sister by blood and rite the bond of sisterhood in the court should be extended to her as well. You don't think Moriyama-san will object do you?"

"She will be thrilled to have more sisters. Wherever Harry-chan goes Shiemi-chan will follow; Shiemi-chan is Yukio-chan's oldest friend and Harry's devotion to Yukio-chan was more than enough to win Shiemi-chan over."

Arthur sighed. "That is reassuring to know. Now what is this about Amaimon-kun and the goblins?"

Rin laughed in surprise. "Oh Sensei! I shouldn't have to tell you that one!"

Arthur frowned and was about to demand an explanation when a veritable stampede of people arrived in the room. As Rin stood and began greeting people and directing them to seats, Arthur resolved to pick up the conversation as quickly as possible after dinner.

Once Ukobach finished in the kitchen and joined them Mephisto took his seat at the head of the table. "I will keep this short in deference to the delightful looking meal that Rin-Chan and Ukobach-kun have prepared by simply saying, to family."

As his toast was echoed around the table everyone began to dig into their meals.

Biting into his chicken katsu Osceola's eyebrows climbed his forehead in surprise. "This is really excellent Okumura-kun. If you ever want to learn some American dishes just let me know. I always get compliments on my carnitas and my fry bread so at the very least I know I can't steer you wrong with those."

Run smiled and nodded. "Thank you Sir Redarm, I have been learning a lot from Ukobach-kun but I really appreciate the compliment and the offer."

"Call me Osceola Okumura-kun."

"Then please call me Rin Osceola-kun."

Arthur gave out a gusty sigh. "This was absolutely worth wating for. The mushrooms that Amaimon-kun and Shiemi-chan picked have a phenomenal flavor, the filling and the tempura just enhances what is already there."

Amaimon nodded his head graciously as Shiemi smiled widely. "Thank you Angel-san, or should I call you Nii-san?" 

Arthur laughed. "I see Harry-chan got you up to speed. Nii-san is fine if you like."

"Oh Nii-san! Thank you!" Shiemi said happily.

Lewin and Ryuji were deep in conversation while they stuffed their faces. Yukio was busy facilitating a conversation between Harry, Konekomaru and Ukobach.

Every one was nearly finished with their main meal only leaving soup and dessert if desired.

Mephisto debated the merits of holding his tongue, but after a glace at Takara Nemu who was eating mechanically with his eyes nearly shut he turned towards Izumo with a serious expression. 

"Kamiki-san, it has come to my attention that you are suffering from worry for your Imouto. This may not be the best time to tell you but I thought you should know as soon as possible." Mephisto paused slightly. "I have been able to verify that she is safe from the Illuminati, they do not have her. You may have been told that your Imouto was adopted but was unable to believe it at the time. I can verify that is true and your Imouto now goes by the name Takara Tsukiko."

"Huh? So you're the older sister of Nemu's cousin?" Rabshakeh the puppet said in surprise. "We were told to keep you from gettin hurt, as a kinda coordinator between different factions, but we didn't know you wuz you, iffi'n you catch my drift. Tsukiko-chan knows she has a sister somewhere and she gave us this to find you but we hadn't used it yet."

Rabshakeh the puppet coughed delicately into his hands and held up a tiny fox doll.

"That's the charm I made for her, to keep her company while I was at school." Izumo started crying. "So it's true, that lady wasn't lying."

"Yeah, Tsukiko-chan is a good kid. Growing up just fine with lots of love. She worries about you even though she don't remember you too well." Rabshakeh turned towards Nemu for a moment and nodded before turning to Mephisto. "She's coming home wit' us. Not trying to bail out on you or nuthin' Boss, but the job we wuz hired for seems to be a no go on account of the fact that we ain't going to hand her over to them animals."

Mephisto nodded. "If that's what Kamiki-san wants I will allow it."

"Can Noriko-chan visit from time to time?" Izumo asked hopefully.

Rabshakeh nodded. "I don't see why not. Give everyone a bit to get settled in and we'll jus play it by ear."

Izumo bowed. "Thank you so much! Okumura-san, Ukobach-san, dinner was delicious but I need to go pack right away."

Mephisto nodded at her clear desperation to reunite with her sister. "Don't worry about the contents of your dorm room. I will have your things sent to you and if you decide you wish to return to True Cross Academy either as a regular student, an exorcist in training, or both, the door is open to you."

Izumo bowed to Mephisto. "Thank you Sir Pheles-san!"

Mephisto returned her bow and turned his attention back to his meal.

Noriko jumped up after Izumo and gave a mumbled and hasty apology before she hurried to catch up.

"That wuz a kind thing you did there boss." Rabshakeh said with a short bow.

Mephisto made an irritated face at his soup bowl. "Don't mention it, seriously, I don't want to discuss it. What is done is done."

Rabshakeh laughed and turned towards Rin and Ukobach. "The kid here was wondering if you got any of the sweet stuff?"

Rin laughed. "Ukobach made mochi ice cream. Give us a chance to clear some plates and we will bring it out."

Arthur stood. "Here, let me help."

They went down the table collecting plates that held little more than crumbs.

Ukobach was so pleased that the meal was a success that he gave Rin a spontaneous hug around his legs as soon as they made it to the kitchen.

Rin stumbled slightly as the little demon threw himself into his knees. "Woah, thanks for the hug Ukobach but what was that for?"

"My Prince, I am sorry for being presumptuous but I am just so happy!" the little stove demon burst into tears. "Sir Pheles waited until everyone was done eating to share his news, even though it was important, so he wouldn't interrupt dinner. Everyone ate all of their food, they even said it was delicious and because you set a place for me at the table I was able to enjoy our food with everyone else."

Rin set the dishes down on the counter while Arthur hovered behind him. Rin bent down and opened his arms. "Aww man, come here and get a big hug."

Ukobach gave a little hop and threw his arms around Rin's neck while Rin stood up with him in his arms.

"You are my friend Ukobach. I know you have been working here but I really enjoy cooking with you and anytime we can eat together I hope you feel free to join me." Rin said with a smile as he set the teary eyed stove demon down on the counter.

Ukobach gave Rin a deep bow. "Thank you my Prince!"

Rin bowed back before smiling. "Mochi now?"

Arthur placed his plates on the counter next to Rin's. "In the freezer correct?"

Rin gave him a funny look. "Uh, yeah, it's ice cream."

Arthur blushed slightly. "I haven't had it before so I'm not sure what to expect."

It was Rin's turn to be embarrassed. "Oh! Sensei, I'm sorry. We eat mochi so often that I forgot it's not very common other places in the world, unless you go out of your way for Japanese food."

Ukobach hopped down from the counter and made his way to the freezer. "The ice cream is from Hogwarts. The house elves sent over quite a few flavors but I thought the honeycomb, chocolate truffle and the raspberry lemon-curd were exceptional."

Ukobach pulled the trays out of the bottom of the freezer and handed them to Rin. "The mochi is made from sweet rice that has been pounded to a fine powder. It is made into a paste that is used to make snacks. Usually these are flavored and shaped, like small cakes and don't have to be cold but here I used the mochi to wrap individual ice-cream balls. It's not a very traditional mochi but it is delicious!"

Rin washed his hands and pulled out plates. He began slicing the mochi ice cream balls in half with a sharp knife. "Pick a flavor Sensei." he said with a smile.

Arthur smiled back. "Chocolate please. If it is the same as I remember the house elves use wizard chocolate, usually from Honeydukes or Wonka, which is superior to regular chocolate."

Rin cut a chocolate in half and popped a piece in his mouth while he handed Arthur the other.

"Mmmmmm." Rin hummed happily as his tail wiggled with joy. "This is amazing! The mochi is perfect Ukobach, the slight hint of coffee flavor really sets off the richness of the chocolate."

Arthur sighed. "Yeah, that's the stuff."

Ukobach chirped merrily. "Lets get this out before it melts!"

Rin laughed. "Yes Sir!"

Arthur and Rin carried out the serving platters while Ukobach carried small dishes and fresh chopsticks.

The assembled dinner party gave a hearty cheer at the sight of the frozen slices of awesomeness.

Plates were quickly passed around and Amaimon was pleasantly suprised when Rin simply set a full platter of mochi ice cream in front of him.

"I know how much you like sweets." Rin said with a smile. "This way you don't have to hold back."

"Very considerate, thank you Otouto." Amaimon said solemnly before offering Shiemi a portion off of his plate.

Blushing Shiemi took a few pieces and mumbled out her thanks.

Amaimon nodded and dug in, forgoing the chopsticks to simply pick the mochi up in his long sharp nails.

Everyone commented on the tart but creamy flavor of the rasberry lemon, the subtle flowery sweetness of the honeycomb with Amaimon interjecting his educated opinion that the honey was derived from heather blossoms, but the real show stopper was the chocolate.

Even Noriko and Izumo, who had made it back to the table before the chocolate was all gone, were sitting in complete relaxation sporting dazed and slightly goofy expressions.

Harry suddenly started laughing out of the blue. "Mephisto, you said the house elves made all that food specifically for me, including the ice cream?"

Mephisto nodded loosely and lazily waved his hand. "Indeed, it was a rather humbling experience, they truly love you my dear."

Harry slumped in her chair wheezing, wiping away mirthful tears. "I spent so much time in the hospital wing for one thing or another that the house elves just started using medical grade chocolate in my food as a matter of course."

Arthur sputtered out a shocked laugh. "That makes a tremendous amount of sense! I'm so happy right now I feel like I could cast my patronus solid enough to ride on!"

Harry giggled. "So do it then Angelus!"

"Non!" Arthur blushed. "It's too embarrassing!"

Harry stuck her tongue out at Arthur. "Awww come on Angelus! We are the only wand wavers here, we've got to show em' how it's done!" 

Harry staggered to her feet as Arthur rose from his seat, similarly off balance. 

No one made any move to stop them as they counted together. "One! Two! Three! EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Harry's patronus erupted into being antlers first, as expected, but then it just kept going and going.

"Woah!" Harry exclaimed.

Arthur's patronus also appeared antlers first. "Furfur!" Lewin gasped. "But not Furfur? It's a Qulin but it looks just like Furfur!"

Arthur turned beet red as Harry heckled him. "Awwwwww you guys are so cute!" Harry laughed.

"This is what I meant when I said that there was no competition between you and Caliburn." Arthur said softly to Lewin. "Caliburn is my sword but you are my shield."

Lewin stood slightly and kissed Arthur gently on the lips causing his patronus to flare brilliantly and take on an opacity like quicksilver.

Arthur grinned cheekily all embarrassment forgotton as Lewin pulled back from his kiss. "What about you big sister? What happened to your stag?"

"I don't know." Harry said wistfully. "I think if I wasn't pumped full of Poppy Pomphrey's secret recipe chocolate and hanging out with two patroni, patronus, patronuses......"

Harry flipped her hands as everyone laughed raucously. "Whatever, I think I would be sad about my stag being gone. I guess I really have changed in more than the obvious ways."

Osceola who, up to this point had vacillated between dazed amusement and a sort of philosophical acceptance that would have probably been a feeling of deep dread in any other circumstance, finally decided to say something.

"Harry-chan, the stag is a noble creature, destined to die. You have laid down you life twice for your people; once in innocence and once again in full knowledge of your sacrifice." 

Osceola voice continued with his same calm cadance but there was a growing sense of otherness building in the room. 

"Your current protector is representative of a God of the Below Realm and very powerful. Wikatea, who was a protector of the people had command of all serpents through his connection to the Great One. The powers of water and fire, also in their combined form as lightning, the ability to kill and cure with a touch, to be able to traverse through time and space......all of these things are the abilities of the Great One." 

Harry calmly regarded the massive serpent with the wings of a raptor and intelligent eyes that assessed her just as calmly in return. Between the regal horns of a stag shone a jewel that twinkled just as merrily as her own demon heart.

Reaching a moment of acceptance Harry bowed and in the language of the serpents addressed the otherworldly being that was both her patronus and not. "Well met Father Of Us All. Your daughter is humbled by your presence."

The Great One hissed in good humor and addressed her directly "What do you call a snake that is disguised as a human?"

She stumbled verbally for a moment, caught between groaning and answering sarcastically. She settled on polite ignorance. "I do not know Father Of Us All."

The snake deity preemptively laughed and said. "Hairy." 

Harry groaned and hissed. "That was terrible! You managed a dad joke, snake pun and a pun on the hypocorism of my given name all in one go. I am impressed!"

The snake god hissed and rattled in pleasure. "I am impressive, and it is good that you recognize that early in our relationship my daughter."

"Are you really here? Or am I just really stoned on chocolate?" Harry asked bluntly in a series of sibilant sounds that didn't seem to have any structure.

"Why not both?" He sinuously stretched a wing out to brush her face gently with his feathers.

Harry smiled at the overwhelming sense of peace and safety that simultaneously passed over her.

"How long can you stay?" She hissed while tears of happiness ran down her cheeks.

"As long as you are capable of maintaining this connection my daughter. A being such as I would inadvertently damage your world if I were to fully manifest here of my own volition." The serpent deity hissed with a sigh. "While it is possible for me to stay longer I do not wish to draw so heavily on you my daughter. Release me and I will come to you when you next have need of me."

Harry choked up slightly. "Yes father." she whispered and with a sigh she released her spell.

Arthur also released his patronus and just stared at Harry in awe. "Did we just......?"

Harry nodded slowly. "Yep." she said popping the p at the end out of habit.

Everyone sitting at the table was in a state of shock. Mephisto looked like he had seen a ghost and Amaimon was similarly discomposed. Rin and Yukio were holding hands and shaking lightly, Ukobach peeked out from under the table, Noriko and Izumo were practically sitting in the same chair, Osceola rested his hand on Lewin's shoulder while Rabshakeh soothed Nemu back into a liminal state of awareness.

Shiemi suddenly wailed and burst into tears. "That was so beautiful!" she cried out as she sobbed. The flowers in her hair shot out new buds and bloomed heavily giving her the look of wearing a robe of living jewels.

Amaimon stared at her in awe. "Shemihaza?" he asked shakily.

Shiemi shook her head as tears dripped down her cheeks. "I don't know Amaimon-chan I feel like me but...more...like I should have known him!?"

Amaimon took on a distressed look. "Don't be sad Shiemi-chan, he lives yet, just outside of this realm."

"I'm not sad really." She sniffled loudly. "I just think I am so happy to see he is alive but then I worry for you, for Anuie, for all of us that this world wasn't meant to hold. We can't let go so we cut ourselves into less and less so we can exist still." 

Amaimon carefully drew Shiemi into his lap and rocked her gently as she watered his shirt with her tears.

Mephisto finally managed to find his voice. "What did he say my Lady?" he asked shakily.

Harry shook her head. "He asked me, "What do you call a snake that is disguised as a human?" 

She looked directly at Mephisto who was barely holding back tears. "Hairy." she deadpanned.

Mephisto shut his eyes and turned away shaking. It took Harry a few seconds to realize he was laughing so hard he wasn't breathing. "Woah, take a breath before you hyperventilate!"

Mephisto finally sucked in air and began giggling audibly. "He crossed over from beyond time and space, millions of years relative to you, possessed your patronus, which was admittedly a flattering likeness even if the scale was a bit off, just to drop a dad joke on you!?" 

Harry began giggling as well. "I know, I know! The sad thing is that isn't even the most ridiculous thing that has ever happened to me!"

Arthur slowly began a deep rolling chuckle closely followed by Osceola and Lewin. It was enough to dispel the lingering air of oppressive power and everyone began to breathe normally again.

Shiemi had stopped crying and was smiling at Amaimon as he wiped her face gently with a green silk handkerchief.

Ukobach climbed back into his seat with a huff. "I think I'm going to have to restrict access to the leftover chocolate ice cream." he shook his head. "Or at the very least put a warning label on it. That's some powerful stuff!"

Yukio took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses. "I'm guessing whoever made the chocolate did something to make the methylxanthines in the cacao more bio avaible, in particular theobromine. As they mainly act on adenosine receptors, perhaps the compound is preferential for adenosine receptor 2A antagonism, which is codynamic with the cannabinoid receptor 1. So the medical grade chocolate may have a similar effect to tetrahydrocannabinol, which is a psychoactive agent and can certainly explain the euphoria and slightly impaired judgment."

Harry and Arthur just laughed harder. "Poppy got us stoned!" Harry managed to gasp out. "No wonder she was like a dragon over a horde with that stuff."

"Poppy Pomphrey.....original dragon lady!" Arthur spluttered and snorted.

Yukio laughed. "And because you are both conditioned to it but haven't had it in a long time you being strongly affected still."

Rabshakeh shook his head amusedly. "It's been really real everyone but I gotta get the kids home." he inclined his head towards Mephisto as Nemu rose from his chair. "I will be in touch boss."

Izumo stood and gave Noriko a hug. "I will see you soon." she said brightly as she followed Nemu to the door where her bags were. Nemu waited a moment for her to gather her things while Rabshakeh used a key to open the front door into a warmly lit entryway. The both stepped through and shut the door behind them.

"Sir Pheles?" Noriko started in a quiet voice. "Without Izumo-chan I don't have any reason to continue with exorcist classes. I only wanted to be here to help her, I don't think I have the right temperament to kill anything, for any reason. Can I go back to being a regular student?"

"If that is what you prefer Paku-san." Mephisto said graciously. "Just remember what you have learned thus far as it may save your life someday and I would like to extend the same offer to you that I extended to Kamiki-san. You are welcome back anytime."

"Thank you sir!" Noriko said sincerely. "I already packed up my bag and I am going to go back to my regular dorm tonight." 

She stood and bowed. "Thank you all for being so kind."

Rin smiled. "If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask Paku-san, I'm sure we will see you around."

Noriko beamed as Yukio walked her to the door and let her out. "Goodnight!" she waved as she hitched her bag and walked away.

***************************

OMAKE:

Welcome to The Gun Show!

 

Shiemi froze in place, yanking Amaimon back against her body.

"Shhhhhhhhh!" She hissed into the narrow space between them.

Harry and Yukio's muffled voices could be heard from inside the room. Shiemi strained her ears to pick up on their conversation.

"Are you sure..........need to strip......after all?"

".............not as moist as I thought it would be.............throw some lube on it just to be safe but..........it slides in and out just fine."

"Fuck! Point it somewhere else.........gross........all over the pillows."

".........can't fit in my pants like this......."

"........mmmmmmm it's dirty.......yeah, let me show you again?"

"Fuck!"

".........did you......just squeeze!"

".....it's too hard!"

A high pitched giggle next to her ear startled a short scream out of Shiemi as she jumped forward and pushed Amaimon against the door with a thump.

Immediately the conversation in the room stopped and the door whipped open so quickly that Amaimon tumbled through bringing Shiemi down with him.

Harry stood over them barely covered in a bra and a towel as Mephisto smirked from the doorway. 

Harry fanned her wings momentarily in suprise before she turned to look at Yukio, who was sitting on the bed with a large pillow in his lap. His Detonics 1911's occupied a place of honor in the middle of the pillow which was already covered with dark cinnamon scented stains from the bottle of FP-10 he was squeezing in a white knuckled grip. The rest of his skin was dusted a dark blushing red as he suddenly remembered he was still in his demonic form and hardly dressed.

"Anuie!? What the hell!!"

"We have been sent to retrive you both for dinner. While I personally find your current form and manner dress quite titillating I must insist on adherence to the dress code."

"EINS, ZWEI, DREI!" snap POOF! ~☆

Harry found herself back in her human body wearing an elegantly tailored tunic in a rich aubergine silk with voluminous circular palazzo pants in a similar material but colored so dark a purple as to appear almost black.

Yukio received a similar treatment except the clothing Mephisto conjured him into looked like something that could have come from his own closet, with the exception of the expensive material and the fine tailoring. The suit was a dark charcoal grey wool twill, cut to accentuate Yukio's broad shoulders and strong physique. The dress shirt underneath was casually buttoned and fashioned from dark teal silk with a matte finish. The overall look was competent, casual elegance.

Yukio set aside the pillow and retrieved a pair of glasses from his desk. Settling them in place he turned and watched Harry help Amaimon get Shiemi upright. Coming to a decision Yukio retrived the pillow from his bed and placed his side arms on his desk.

He rubbed them down with a dry cloth to catch the excess oil and then he removed his jacket so he could re-rig his holster."

"I'm not going anywhere without them Anuie."

"No, I daresay you won't. Shall we?"

Mephisto gave Yukio and Harry a fleeting smile before he turned to lead the way.

Shiemi and Amaimon followed behind Harry, who was directly behind Yukio as they made their way downstairs.

"Well that was anticlimactic. I'm bored now." Amaimon whispered to Shiemi.

"What, already done gawking at "The Gun Show!?"

"Anuie!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I *loved* writing this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do!


	26. Tuesday's Child is Full Of Grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The decision is made to visit Gringotts but Amaimon has a difficult question to ask first. 
> 
> Mr. Fortescue is actually terrifyingly formidable and disturbingly well informed.
> 
> Amelia Bones is in possession of a very convenient plot hole....er I mean Time Turner!

Yukio closed the door and came back to sit at the table next to Rin who was fidgeting slightly.

"Oniisan?" Rin asked nervously. "Can we visit the goblin bank today before it gets much later?"

Harry sobered quickly. "Yes, we really need to record Shiemi-chan's adoption before Nicolas gets too far into his campaign against Dumbledore."

"Also there is the matter of recording Harry-chan and Shiemi-chan's standing with the Enclave of The Court." Arthur added matter of factly. "My sister Fleur works at the London branch and I will need her attendance to officiate."

"London is eight hours behind us so if we go now it will be slightly after the midday lunch break." Mephisto informed the group at large.

Harry looked at Amaimon. "We should also see about getting Rin and Yukio recorded as lords of House Black by association, or would they be their own house and would Black, Peverell, Potter and Slytherin be considered vassel houses?" 

"That is a good question Angharad-chan. We should have the goblins perform a blood inheritance test to see if there are any defunct houses they can take over by birthright. Worst case scenario I do have the authority to give them Lord status within the bank which is sufficient for legal purposes when dealing with wizards." Amaimon chewed out the last word distastefully.

"Shiemi-chan?" Amaimon asked as everyone busied themselves with clearing the dessert things.

Shiemi smiled softly. "I'm fine now Amaimon-chan."

"Yes, but I need to talk to you for a moment in private." 

Shiemi blushed and stood up holding his hand. "We will be right back." she said as she towed Amaimon from the cafeteria and down the hallway to the room she was staying in.

She opened the door and ushered him in before shutting it behind them.

She sat on the edge of the unmade bed and watched patiently as Amaimon stood in front of her while chewing his thumb.

"I don't know how to do this. I'm going to mess everything up and then Anuie will be mad with me."

Shiemi frowned. "Whatever it is I will listen and if I don't understand I will ask you questions until I do. Just say what you need to say."

Amaimon's manic chewing slowly came to a stop. "I know what I want to say but I don't know how to convince you that I am being sincere."

Shiemi tilted her head. "How about I just assume you are being sincere and you can skip trying to convince me."

"That is helpful."

"What is it that you want to say?" Shiemi asked gently.

Amaimon momentarily closed his eyes before pinning Shiemi with a flat stare. "Shiemi-chan, I want to register you as my betrothed." at her surprized gasp he hastened to elaborate. 

"Whether or not you take me as your primary mate is besides the point, not that I would be displeased if you chose me." He abruptly sat on the floor with his legs crossed and looked up at her with his strange golden eyes.

Shiemi thought about what he said. "What does it mean to be a "primary mate"?"

Amaimon shifted and looked away. "You may have noticed that demons are, ah, a bit different about sex, at least from what I can see compared to most humans." 

He shrugged. "I find it a bit strange that human mating rituals tend to emphasize just two partners when demon family groups tend to form around a strong triad at the very least."

"The closest thing in demon courtship, that is functionally similar to the idea of human monogamy is the agreement of exclusivity for offspring between two demons." He picked at his nails as he droned on lightly. 

"Two demons can mutually agree to only have offspring with each other regardless of their other sexual partners, this agreement would make them primary mates."

Shiemi was silent for a long moment while Amaimon wished he had a sucker or something sweet to cram in his face. Anuie was going to murder him for bringing this up with her after only knowing her for one day, but he would be damned if he let her be completely whisked away from him by his brothers and sister. Anuie was simply too mercurial to trust such an important matter to.

"So you are saying you would like to have children with me someday if I would like that too?" Shiemi asked slowly.

"Yes." He said plainly.

"Not for at least another five years though?"

"I can wait for as long as you like."

Shiemi smiled slightly. "Being betrothed wouldn't change how we play, for example would you still want to play with Rin and me like we wanted to this afternoon. Or how you and Anuie played with Nee-san last night?"

Amaimon shivered and stood smoothly. "I would still want to play just the same as before and if you decided you wanted offspring with someone else." he grimaced. "I would be disappointed but I wouldn't be angry with you."

"This vessel is young and healthy. Before, my body was very damaged and I never had the opportunity to reproduce the way beings in Assiah do. Not many females are strong enough to bear my young safely but more importantly I like you. You hear the plants and you listen to them."

Amaimon crossed his arms and dropped into a whisper that Shiemi barely heard. "You are the first one who has ever cared for them the way I do."

Shiemi contemplated his body, in particular his slimness and his youthful good looks. 

"I assume you have a fully manifested demon form in addition to this body?"

Amaimon frowned. "I do. I'm not pretty like Yuki-chan and Angharad-Chan. Even Anuie, who is frankly terrifying, is nicer to look at."

Shiemi nodded. "I understand. I'm not very pretty either when you compare me to Nee-san or Izumo-chan."

Amaimon's expression changed slightly leaning towards confusion. "Shiemi-chan, as pretty as Angharad-chan is I also think you are beautiful. You are very different looking but that makes you unique."

Shiemi smiled brightly. "Thank you Amaimon-chan! Will you show me your demon form so I can say the same for you?"

Amaimon regarded her silently for a moment before a fleeting grin pulled at his lips. "Clever and beautiful."

He silently removed his shirt and tie; his jacket, vest and fingerless gloves were still tossed up on a hook in the kitchen. He bent down to unlace his boots and toed them off with his socks. His belt and trousers followed. He stripped out of his boxer briefs and Shiemi absently noted with a blush that the carpet matched the drapes.

Amaimon took a step forward to give himself some space from the bed behind him and he started to change. Shiemi watched in fascination as his arms lengthened and widened, ending in claw tipped paws reminiscent of the hobgoblin Behemoth.

His hair was still green, but instead of a single gravity defying spike he sported two reddish brown horns, that while spiraled tightly at the base, thrust up into short aggressive spikes above his brow.

His ears were longer, his teeth were longer, his feet were longer and more muscular. He was covered liberally with bright green scales and his tail was thick and strong looking.

He stood silently with his eyes clenched shut and before Shiemi could ask if he was all right his chest bloomed magnificently before her eyes.

Shiemi gasped and dragged her eyes back up to his face where she was startled to find that he was carefully watching her reaction.

"Amaimon-chan, may I touch you?" Shiemi breathed in excitement.

He nodded hesitantly and braced himself for an onslaught that didn't come.

Shiemi touched him gently, her hands flitting about like restless butterflies. She found herself reassessing her earlier impression of him being lizard like and decided that he was more plant like. What she thought were scales were actually superficial patches of chlorophyll containing organelles that presumably allowed him to survive on carbon dioxide, water and sunlight. 

No wonder he was such a candy junky! If he wasn't shifting to his demon form often enough to photosynthesize he may have been making himself glucose deficient!

Amaimon relaxed fractionally as he found her touch pleasant. She skimmed her hand around his waist and pet his tail exactly once.

Seeing him shiver from that simple brief touch assured her that his tail was just as sensitive as a demon's tail should be.

She brought her hands back up resting them lightly on either side of his blooming heart.

"May I touch you here?" She asked softly.

Amaimon briefly closed his eyes in fear but after a small pause he looked down at her and nodded.

Shiemi slowly ran just the very tips of her fingers along the underside of the petals of his heart and had to snatch her hands back quickly as she very nearly brought them both crashing to the ground.

That single touch had been electrifying. Amaimon's arms circled her and supported her as she swayed. 

"You desire me even like this." Amaimon said in frank astonishment.

Shiemi blushed brilliantly. "You are very unique and exotic. I think you are beautiful and just being able to touch you is thrilling. Like finding something rare and precious growing somewhere unexpected."

Amaimon's normal stoicism crumbled in the face of her passion.

"Oh! No, don't cry!" Shiemi worriedly touched his face. "Please don't be sad Amaimon-Chan! You can turn back if you want to!"

He nodded and shifted back into his human form while hiding his face in her flower festooned hair.

"Yes." Shiemi said, slightly muffled by the skin of his chest as he held her tighter.

Amaimon leaned back so he could see her face. "Yes what?" he asked in confusion.

"I accept your offer of betrothal and the possibility of a relationship leading to children someday in the future."

Shiemi smiled at his shocked expression. "Thank you." he breathed out.

"But on one condition." Seeing his face fall she quickly explained herself. "You need to change into your demon form and get a little sunlight everyday. I am worried for you, with all the sugar you eat in your human form I don't think you are metabolizing well. You really need to photosynthesize and if you don't want to be alone I would be happy to sit with you." 

Amaimon stepped back and despite his total lack of clothing he bowed formally. "As my lady wishes, so it shall be."

"Excellent!" Shiemi grinned. "Let's get you dressed so we can get going before everyone comes looking for us."

It only took Amaimon a few minutes to re-dress and lace up his boots. He and Shiemi headed for the kitchen to retrieve his gloves, coat and vest.

"Excellent timing dear brother mine, we were just about to fetch you." Mephisto said with a leer.

Shiemi replied before Amaimon had the chance to say something unwise. "I'm glad you didn't or you would have been interrupting something rather important. Before we get to the bank and everyone else hears the news I want you all know that Amaimon and I have decided to declare that we are officially betrothed." She raised her hands to stave off any argument.

"There are a number of very good reasons most of which have to do with creating family ties on as many levels as possible to create the most air tight protection, after all no one is going to mess with the adopted siblings of the fiancée of the King of the goblins." Shiemi grinned fiercely.

Arthur sucked in a shocked breath and gave a smirking Rin a pointed glare.

Shiemi continued boldly, mistaking Arthur's suprise for disapproval. "We genuinely like each other and are compatible on a number of levels. We are considering the possibility of children in the future so it makes sense to align ourselves politically now." 

Amaimon held himself stiffly. "Anuie, if you cannot see fit to give your blessing I will defy you in this, do not test me." 

Maphisto laughed. "My dear Amaimon-chan, I long thought you and Shiemi-chan would be fast friends. I am happy to see that you are interested in developing a deeper relationship and I give my blessing most enthusiastically."

"As your head of house and as your Oneesan I also give you my blessing Shiemi-chan. Welcome to the family again Amaimon-chan." Harry said sweetly.

Yukio, Rin and Arthur chimed in with their honest congratulations until Shiemi blushingly felt the need to clarify that not much would be changing in their day to day life, despite the betrothal being valid it was mostly a human construct that she and Amaimon didn't plan to adhere to very closely.

Rin blushed bright red as Amaimon suggestively licked his lips before sending Rin a wicked grin, leaving a very confused Yukio wondering what he was missing.

Arthur shrugged and smiled sheepishly at Mephisto's sardonic look, earning a nod of approval from the purple haired demon.

Noticing that Amaimon was completely re dressed and ready to leave Shiemi looked around for the rest of their usual group."Where are Sugaro-kun and Miwa-kun?" 

"Lewin and Osceola took them to the Vatican to give their statements while we step out." Arthur answered simply.

"Is everyone ready?" Mephisto asked and as he received nods all the way around he threw out some basic rules of etiquette.

"These are Amaimon's subjects so please follow his lead without protest. If he must be a disciplinarian do not contradict him. Hold any questions that are not relevant in the moment until we return home and do not assume, just because you speak Japanese, that you cannot be understood. Most goblins are multilingual and there are such things as translation charms as well."

Amaimon spoke decisively. "Shiemi-chan will walk with me. Followed by Angharad-chan flanked by Rin-chan and Yukio-chan. Anuie and Arthur-kun will need to bring up the rear, which is a honored position of trust."

Amaimon frowned for a moment at Kurikara. "I know Rin-chan isn't trained yet but he needs to wear his sword properly."

Rin groaned as Mephisto poofed him into a traditional yukata in shades of blue and black, with his sword tucked through his obi.

"Well at least Shiemi is wearing a kimono so I don't look like a total weirdo." Rin grumbled as Harry snorted.

"This is wizarding England we are stepping into, be prepared for lots of robes and bizarre styles. You will blend in more than the rest of us actually. It's Yukio that is going to turn heads with his strange clothing." Harry said with a laugh.

Amaimon held out his arm for Shiemi as he turned his key in the pantry door. Stepping through he held the door open politely for his entourage. 

As soon as Mephisto stepped through, as the last of the group he closed the door firmly behind him. "Taking the scenic route are we?" he asked with a laugh.

Amaimon shrugged. "Just keep your eyes forward and stay in position."

They formed up to Amaimon's satisfaction and proceeded in a stately but purposeful walk around the corner of a building and into Diagon Alley proper.

*********************************

Florean Fortescue puttered around outside his ice cream parlor, putting the finishing touches on his post lunch rush cleanup. Considering it was a Tuesday business was a little slow despite the fine weather, so he was mostly enjoying the sunshine and people watching.

Something colorful caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and as he turned to look he froze in shock. 

Coming from around the corner of the music shop, shimmering slightly like he had just walked out of thin air, no crack of apparition, no snap of a port key, was the King of the Goblins himself escorting a pretty young woman that was decked out in living flowers like a May queen.

Behind the Goblin King walked two young men who had to be brothers, twins by the look of them, although one was wearing robes and the other looked like he was wearing muggle clothes. Both of them were grim faced and armed, the robe wearing brother carrying a wickedly curved sword, thankfully still in it's sheath while the muggle dressed brother looked like he was a double wand dueler based on the barely visible shape of his holster.

Florean felt his heart stutter and nearly stop in his chest. Walking between the two young men with all the grace of an empress, her dark red hair shining like a fiery beacon, was none other than Harry Potter. Vibrant, very much alive and looking like she'd she hadn't aged a day since he saw her last. 

Tears welled up in his eyes and he made no move to wipe them as they spilled over and ran down his cheeks.

The little girl he always gave free ice cream to, not because she was the Girl Who Lived, but because on her first day in the alley she was so overwhelmed she accidentally let it slip that in all of her eleven years her family had never let her so much as taste ice cream was alive!

He remembered when the news of her abusive home life was plastered across every tabloid rag in wizarding Europe and then shortly after her death was announced as a casualty of Malfoy Manor. He felt as if his heart had physically broken and in that dark moment he swore on his memory of her wide happy smile as she tasted her first ice cream that he would never again ignore his instincts. 

It wasn't enough for him to keep his head down and mind his own business as a humble ice cream purveyor. So he cultivated a relationship with a high ranking auror he trusted and anytime he felt there was something wrong with a child's home life he discreetly started an investigation. 

Unfortunately there were still evil people in the world who treated children wrongly and his efforts of the last 15 years to  date had saved countless innocent lives. 

What he saw next froze his breath in his chest. Bringing up the rear of the procession was the unmistakable and grim visage of Arthur Delacour, former ICW taskforce leader, and Lord Johann Faust, a person he only recognized from his ancestor's colorful description of the immensely powerful and long lived man.

Florean swore in the privacy of his mind, just in case he hadn't already noticed there was something serious going down there was the earth shaking poof that the shit was about to hit the fan. Something terrible had happened to Harry Potter and he had a suspicion it was all going to come back to that fool Albus Dumbledore.

He watched with a heavy heart as they mounted the marble steps of Gringotts sedately, the full compliment of goblin guards bowing so low their long noses touched the ground. The bank's doors sprang open seemingly on their own accord. As they collectively transitioned from the bright sunlight to the relative gloom of the bank, the doors snapped shut behind them with a clanging boom that echoed down the alley.

Florean breathed slowly and deeply, deliberately calming his racing heart before he quickly locked up his shop. He crossed his fingers and said a little charm for good luck before he apparated to the ministry.

He briskly walked through the busy atrium and caught a lift to the level were the DMLE offices were located. 

As he came down the hall nodding at various Aurors who greeted him he was relieved to see that Amelia Bones was back in her office from her lunch break. He hastily knocked on her door before shutting it behind him while he cast a series of charms and jinxes to ensure their privacy.

"Florean! What in the blazes!?" Head Auror Bones started to rise from her desk.

"She's alive Amelia! I saw her with my own eyes! You must re-open the missing person's case I filed immediately, Albus Dumbledore be dammed!"

"Who, Florean, who is alive?"

A terrible gleam entered Florean's eye. "Why none other than Harry Potter my dear. I knew that old goat fucker was hiding something! Albus had taken great pains to discredit his brother Aberforth but as I told you, Aberforth was telling the truth!"

Amelia sat heavily in her chair. "Where?" 

Florean fluttered his hands nervously. "You aren't going to like this one bit. She was being escorted to Gringotts in the middle of a protective detail consisting of three salient figures in addition to three more I didn't personally recognize.

"Who?" Amelia breathed in dread.

"Arthur Delacour, Lord Johann Faust and the Goblin King himself." Florean said frankly.

"Shit! Fuck!" Amelia jumped to her feet and unthinkingly tore through Florean's spellwork like it was wet tissue.

"TONKS!" Amelia yelled down the hallway. "Get in here NOW!"

A middle aged auror with a striking candyfloss pink bob stomped down the hallway immediately after Amelia's strong words.

"Whatever it is boss, it weren't me." Auror Tonks drawled as she stepped through the door.

"Ghost protocol!" Amelia barked out.

Auror Tonks' hair cycled through several colors in shock before settling on a shade that was eerily reminiscent of Harry's own peculiar red.

Tonks grimly snapped off a series of spells and nodded when the room was secure.

"As of ten minutes ago we have a positive Potter sighting. She currently seems to be under the protective custody of the Goblin King and is at Gringotts. I need you to reopen her missing persons case yesterday and get the necessary documentation to your contact immediately."

Amelia pulled a curious lock box from her desk. She opened it and removed a time turner that constantly shifted and wavered in her hands.

"This is a family heirloom. Neither of you will breathe a word of it to anyone." Amelia stood and carefully draped the chain of the device around Tonks' neck.

"The safety catch is on the side, disengage it before travel and reengage it as soon as you have transitioned fully." 

Amelia's voice was deadly serious. "This is like no time turner you have ever used. Turn the device backwards three times while visualizing the task you need to perform. Once you have completed your task visualize returning to this time and place while turning the device forwards three times. Do not deviate, do not sight see, stay on task unless you have a death wish." 

"Yes ma'am." Auror Tonks acknowledged firmly before she disengaged the safety.

Tonks wavered and and blinked out of existence before suddenly blinking back into view.

Ashen faced and grey haired with shock Tonks carefully re-engaged the safety on the device and wordlessly handed it back to Amelia who immediately placed it back in the box and re-warded it. 

"The goblins?" Amelia asked impatiently.

Tonks worked her mouth silently and wheezed before pulling herself together enough to speak. "I reopened the Potter case like you asked and I know you said not to deviate but Lord Longbottom's file was right next to it so I pulled that file as well."

Tonks nervously wiped her sweaty palms on her robe. "The list of suspects in the Longbottom case, the aurors assigned to the security detail, match the duty roster for the day that Potter disappeared" 

Amelia sucked in a breath. "How did we miss that!"

Tonks shook her head. "That's not even the worst of it. On a hunch I popped down to the Department of Mysteries and had a chat with John Everard's portrait. The enchantments on the Headmaster's office made it difficult to discuss but he was able to verify, in a round about way, that if Dumbledore wasn't directly responsible for the suspected attacks on Potter and Longbottom he definitely knew about them before they happened and did nothing."

"What else did Headmaster Everard have to say?" Amelia asked with a shiver of trepidation.

Tonks folded her arms grimly. "I took his sworn statement and he described in detail how members of the DMLE, past and current, self identified as death eaters while they carried an immobilized Harry Potter into the Department of Mysteries. They returned without her and Everard speculated that they may have put her through the death veil. He overheard them discussing the need to cover their tracks and trace where she apperated in from. Everard had made some discrete inquiries a few years back and was able to determine that her most likely origin point was Longbottom Manor making the two cases one."

Florean moaned painfully as he slumped against the wall. "Neville Longbottom, another child we failed to save."

Tonk's took a shaky breath. "It seems to me that the Death Eaters who executed Harry Potter also conspired to eliminate the last person to see her alive after the fire at Malfoy Manor. As an outright murder would have been suspicious they tortured Lord Longbottom into a comatose state to keep him silent. By saying they had "found him" that way it eliminated the need to frame anyone for the crime and the whole thing was buried by Albus Dumbledore the same way that Harry Potter's missing persons report was closed, under the authority of the Supreme Mugwump." 

Amelia sighed. "As the "war leader" during a state of emergency he legally had the authority to do that. We can't exactly bring him up on charges."

"That's what I said when I presented the evidence we had against him but the Goblins told me something very interesting." Tonks cracked a sinister smile. "How does attempted genocide of a Noble and Ancient house sound?" 

Amelia leaned forward intensely. "How? The argument can be made, especially considering Lord Longbottom's delicate state, that great pains were taken to preserve his life."

Tonks shook her head. "Not Longbottom, Potter. With my Aunts and my cousins dead, mom and I disowned, Harry Potter was the last main branch Black by blood. Even better, Sirius named her Head of House on the event of his death, regardless of her age. Those Death Eaters didn't just try to kill the last main branch Potter, they also tried to kill the actual, recognized Head of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. Throw in there that she is also the last Slytherin and may also be a more direct heir of Gryffindor than anyone currently living and I think, and so do the Goblins, that we will be able to string Dumbledore up by his thumbs before the week is out."

Amelia let out a shuddering breath. "And how did the Goblins take this?"

"Oh, about like you would expect." Tonks said with a grimace. "Pretty much the only thing that saved me from having to fight for my life was the fact that I was bringing this conspiracy to light as a blood relative and not just as a member of the DMLE. So far as they are concerned me, you and Mr. Fortescue are the only ones involved who are absolved of any blame."

Amelia looked horrified. "Oh fuck me! Are they going to war over this?"

Tonks shook her head. "I don't know, they were digging through treaties when I left. I did explain how we obtained the information we acted on and they agreed to wait for their King to arrive before making any kind of hostile move. I think a lot of this depends too on how much pushback they get from the ICW regarding Dumbledore."

Amelia stood grimly and dispelled Tonks' security spells. She reached into her desk and withdrew a heavily warded communication mirror. "Recall everyone in the department on my authority. We are initiating a full lockdown under stealth protocol Hydra Unicorn Niffler."

A tinny voice said. "Acknowledged." before the mirror deactivated.

Amelia cracked her back with a sigh. "The offices are sealed, we just need to catch the stragglers as they come in." 

She turned an appraising eye on Mr. Fortescue. "Florean, how up to scratch are you on petrification and freezing  spells?" 

Florean straightened to his full height and brandished his wand with a flourish. "Have we been working together so long now dear Amelia that you have forgotten that first and foremost I am an ice cream man! Freezing and petrification charms are my specialty!"

A sinister smile crept over Auror Tonks' face. "I have a feeling that this is going to be a very cathartic afternoon."

Amelia nodded urbanely as the three of them walked through her office door. "Just keep the maiming to a minimum, please and thank you." 

"No promises." Tonks snarked back as the door swung shut behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh......I'm getting nervous.....like it wasn't convoluted as hell to begin with, now we are dragging the wizarding world into the mix. 
> 
> Just wait until the obligatory "Gringotts inheritance ritual"; com'on, you know it's coming......it's such a deeply embedded trope I couldn't leave it alone. 
> 
> Hopefully my take on the old stale cracker is a bit easier to swallow; it does add to the story and only contains what filler is needed to keep the whole thing from deflating like an overcooked souffle. 
> 
> I know, I'm a tease.
> 
> Let me know what you think of this insanity in the comments box below!
> 
> As always thanks for reading!


	27. Arariskein, by reason or arms.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contents:
> 
> Shiemi feels!
> 
> Goblin etiquette!
> 
> Amaimon acting like an impossibly old demon King instead of a sugar addled toddler!
> 
> The least painful to read Gringotts inheritance test scene ever written in fandom! (God I hope!)
> 
> Shocking revelations about whose ancestors did or did not have sex with whom!
> 
> All that and more!

Shiemi was deeply grateful for the support of Amaimon's arm and the subtle stabilization charms Harry was maintaining. Despite having worn geta nearly every day of her life she had never experienced anything quite like the slick cobblestones that paved the ally they were walking down.

She could tell that Yukio, who was walking behind her, was aware of her difficulty and was poised to catch her if she fell.

Shiemi was so full of warm feelings for her friends, no, her family in that moment that it took every fiber of her being to simply walk forwards towards their goal.

Even Mephisto and Arthur, calmly ensuring that no one could attack them from behind, were part of the big feeling that swelled happily inside of her.

Love, she decided, love is what she was feeling and the thought took her breath away. Amaimon misinterpreted the small hitch in her breathing. "It's just a little further." he murmured softly to her ears alone.

Shiemi smiled as the feeling flared brightly inside her at his considerate words. "Thank you." she whispered back just as softly.

As Amaimon led her to a massive series of wide steps carved from snowy white marble Shiemi gasped quietly at her first look at the Goblin bank. True Cross Town has some fantastic architecture that was easy to see from her house, but this was on a whole different level.

The massive white marble pillars were twisted and warped but somehow impossibly intimidating in their size. Their queer geometry flanked equally massive bronze doors decorated by fantastically detailed metal filigree. Standing gaurd at each of those massive pillars were stout, fierce looking warriors who's battle worn and utilitarian armor seemed all the more menacing as it contrasted sharply with the opulent surroundings.

All the guards bowed deeply in unison, prompted by some unseen signal, as the doors to the bank opened on their own.

"Your Highness." A richly dressed but still diminutive goblin with piercing dark pink eyes and a strong brow stood on the threshold. He bowed once as they passed before striding forward to walk slightly behind and to the left of Amaimon.

Amaimon led the procession into a high ceilinged hall, allowing Arthur and Mephisto to clear the way before he snapped his fingers. The heavy main doors snapped shut with an echoing boom.

"Director Golg." Amaimon acknowledged his subordinate. "We are here on business that should prove beneficial to The Nation."

Amaimon turned to coolly regard the long rows of goblins who stood deferentially in front of their respective teller stations, four deep in the case of the junior associates.

"As you can see I have with me Lady Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, who was rescued from limbo five days ago by my younger brother in blood and deed Yukio Okumura." Amaimon let his words finish echoing through the cavernous hall.

"We are here to formalize our familial bonds to absolve any potential issues relating to life debts owed and to that end I also require the presence of curse breaker Fleur Isabelle Weasley Delacour."

Director Golg bowed. "Your Highness, we received intelligence yesterday that is relevant to today's proceedings. If you will accompany me I took the liberty of preparing a meeting room for your party. Goblin Griphook will recall Cursebreaker Delacour if that is to your liking your Highness."

Amaimon nodded. "Lead on." and the group formed up again, this time followed by a number of Gringotts department heads.

Shiemi once again walked beside Amaimon arm in arm. Now that she was much more comfortable on the smooth marble floor and walking at a pace that was a tad slower to accommodate Director Golg's stride, Shiemi indulged her curiosity and carefully let her eyes roam around the room.

Everything was elaborately and skillfully wrought, from the mesmerizing geometric pattern in the floor to the deeply etched name plates on the desks. 

There was a certain richness, a permanence to all the metal and stone around her that she was surprised to find didn't feel cold to her at all.

Instead of feeling intimidated by the massive echoing hall Shiemi felt sheltered and secure as if the entire building was just the visible front for a much larger manifestation of the earth that she understood so intimately.

She knew, academically, that she couldn't reach down and run her fingers through the marble below her feet the same way she could with the dirt in her garden but the energy felt the same and filled her with the same sense of familiar peace.

Director Golg reached a door liberally covered in actual gold filigree and opened it for his King with a bow. 

Inside was a sumptuously appointed conference room complete with refreshments under stasis charms on the sideboard. "Coffee, tea or juice your Highness?" Director Golg inquired politely.

"Perhaps later, we just came from dinner in Tokyo." Amaimon responded dismissively as he helped Shiemi to her seat just to the right of his own in the the middle of the table.

Sitting down in his own chair Amaimon waited a moment for everyone to settle in. Mephisto took the seat to his left with Arthur next to him and Rin next to Arthur. Harry took the seat next to Shiemi and Yukio took the seat Next to Harry. Various Goblins filled in on the opposite side of the table, which was wide enough to be comfortable but narrow enough to facilitate passing documents between both parties, according to rank with Director Golg in the center. 

Amaimon folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair with a bored expression on his face. "Now that we are in a secure location what intelligence did you receive yesterday?"

Director Golg motioned for a subordinate to bring him a bulging document folder. "This is evidence presented to us in good faith by Auror Nymphadora Tonks on behalf of the DMLE Director, Senior Auror Amelia Bones."

"The file contains all the evidence they have been able to gather on the attempted murder of Lady Potter-Black as well as the assault on Lord Longbottom. Prior to yesterday Aurors Tonks and Bones were unable to make headway on the case despite the evidence, due to the actions of Chief Mugwump Albus Dumbledore."

Amaimon held up a hand. "I would like Lord Faust to go over the particulars for a moment please."

Amaimon nodded to Mephisto who smiled silkily at Director Golg. 

"Earlier today Lady Potter-Black and I met with Lord Nicolas Flamel and secured his support in the ICW with regards to taking punitive actions against Albus Dumbledore for his negligence towards Lady Potter-Black, Lord Longbottom and the other children he willfully sacrificed on the alter of his ambitions."

Amaimon took over from Mephisto. "What advice does legal have concerning the matter?"

A nervous goblin who was considerably younger than his compatriots stood and coughed lightly before he spoke in a smooth baritone voice that belied his diminutive stature. 

"Your Highness we recommend leveling the charge of attempted genocide of a Noble and Ancient house in regards to the Lady Potter-Black's case and the use of the additional evidence concerning Lord Longbottom to support the accusation of conspiracy with the previous supporters of the defunct Dark Lord Voldemort."

Amaimon sat up and leaned forward his elbows planted on the table. "I want you to maintain control over the physical evidence but cooperate with the ICW investigation team so long as it looks as though they are willing to cough up Dumbledore. If Lord Flamel seems like he is getting cold feet or is being stymied by the pro-Dumbledore contingent I want you to contact Arthur Delacour and Lord Johann Faust immediately. They have my complete confidence in this matter."

Amaimon turned and addressed Arthur directly. "Impress upon those idiot wizards that I am well within my rights to invoke a breach of treaty over the matter as Lady Potter-Black is goblin kin. They would do well to remember who won the last war and who is now in control of the management of all of their physical wealth."

Arthur shuddered and inclined his head deferentially. "Yes your Highness."

"Excellent." Amaimon said flatly. "If there are no other pressing concerns I would like to move on to the reason for our visit today."

When no one spoke up in the allowed interval of time after his statement Amaimon continued.

"I am here today to legitimize the bond of kinship between myself and my betrothed Shiemi Moriyama, blood sister to Lady Potter-Black who is bonded to my blood brothers Yukio Okumura and Rin Okumura."

Director Golg looked dumbfounded for a moment before a wide sharklike grin split his face. "Yes your Highness, very profitable business indeed. I believe we should start with blood based inheritance tests to see where we can consolidate some vaults." He cackled gleefully.

Getting control of himself Director Golg bowed. "Assuming that is where you would like to start your Highness." 

Amaimon waved him on while he stifled a yawn. "Would you like some tea Shiemi-chan?" he asked as he moved to the sideboard. Lifting the lids on various pots he sniffed. "There are some herbal varieties."

"Yes please, anything with lemon balm." Shiemi said gratefully.

Amaimon poured and sweetened her tea with a small amount of honey before handing it off to her.

"Anyone else?" Amaimon asked graciously.

"I could murder a cuppa." Harry groaned. "Anything with caffeine please."

Getting similar answers from the others and a request for coffee from Arthur, Yukio stood to help Amaimon distribute beverages.

Director Golg watched his King interacting with the strange assortment of humanoid beings as if they were all equals and was struck by a terrifying thought that he quickly suppressed his reaction to. 

It made sense for King Amaimon to dote on his betrothed, breeding females were rare and once alliances were secured were to be protected fiercely. 

Despite the pretense for the official record was clear that everyone in the room was aware that Lord Faustus was in fact Mephisto the King of Time. 

Rin and Yukio Okumura must be the newly discovered Princes everyone was so wound up about.

Even Arthur Delacour was a known factor in his capacity as an important and influential political ally, championing the cause of non human personhood as a legal status. 

It was simple, all of these persons could be accounted for, their worth reasonably calculated except for Harry Potter.

What the hell had Harry Potter become that she was now kin and equal to the King of Earth?

Director Golg turned his attention back to the scene in front if him and smiled sheepishly at the knowing look that King Amaimon speared him with.

Director Golg shuddered subtlety as he averted his gaze; those eyes like flattened nuggets of pure gold had a way of stripping a goblin of his mask. 

Just in time to spare him the necessity of small talk the archivists returned with the necessary log books and ritual items. 

"Please distribute the ritual items to the truth seekers." Director Golg intoned formally.

Yukio, Harry, Shiemi and Rin each received a beautifully carved jade box with delicate silver fittings.

Director Golg waited until they had finished examining their boxes. "As you can see the seal has not been tampered with. At your leisure you may open your individual box, only touching the items in your box. Touching someone else's items before the magic has run it's course will invalidate the results."

The four boxes were opened slightly out of sync making a small cacophony of muffled cracks sound out.

"Good. Inside you will find a piece of parchment, a pin, a clear inkwell and a inkpen. Prick your left ring finger with the pin and add one drop of blood to the inkwell." Director Golg waited until his direction had been complied with.

"Now once your inkwell has turned black dip the pen and allow the point to touch the parchment. Once the pen is touching the parchment you can let go. The pen is self writing and within a few minutes we will have a reasonable facsimile of your individual direct magical bloodlines." 

Director Golg watched as the four truth seekers followed his directions precisely.

As the pens slowed and stopped one by one Director Golg stood and bowed. "Mr. Okumura and Mr. Okumura, do I have your permission to interpret your results together?"

Rin hesitated slightly and then remembering what Mephisto said about Goblins and translation charms he stood and bowed back. "Yes please Director Golg. My brother and I appreciate your expert opinion."

Director Golg smiled toothily. "Excellent please pass the parchment from your boxes across the table to me." he took the tiny sheets into his hand and shook them out until they they nearly covered the table.

"Is any of this information to be held in confidence from anyone in this room?" Director Golg asked Rin.

Rin glanced up the table at Yukio who subtly shook his head no. "The persons in this room have our complete trust. You are permitted to disclose what you deem is relevant."

Laying the sheets one on top of the other Director Golg held them up to the light. "The results are identical. Forthwith both Rin and Yukio Okumura are to be treated as the same legal entity." 

Director Golg hastened to explain. "My Princes, while you are both individuals with your own thoughts and feelings for the purposes of magical contracts and inheritances you are intrinsically bound. Any pledge one makes the other is equally beholden to and vice versa. It is simpler to eliminate the redundancy in the paperwork and just handle you together."

Arthur frowned. "Director Golg, would this extend to contracts like a formal apprenticeship?" 

Director Golg nodded. "Yes, if Prince Rin Okumura entered into an apprenticeship then Prince Yukio Okumura, would be equally beholden and vice versa."

Yukio sighed. "King Amaimon, while we are here would it be possible to find a blade capable of channeling the royal flames? It seems I will be joining Nii-san in his training."

Amaimon's eyes narrowed and a tiny smirk tugged the corner of his lips at his Otouto's obvious discomfort. "I'm sure we can find something that will suit."

Yukio bowed slightly. "Thank you your Highness."

Director Golg spread the parchment on the table in front of him. "My Princes, you share a common paternal progenitor with his Highness, King Amaimon, which I am sure you already know." 

"Your maternal grandfather Bran was a direct descendent of the mainline Welsh pureblood Egin's also known by their Anglicized name Greengrass." 

"Your maternal grandmother Yoko used the last name Egin but was originally a Mahoutokoro Okumura. Considering the diffusion of that bloodline across Eurasia and the fact that most of the material assets of the family lines are held in trust as school property I doubt either of you stand to inherit anything from your maternal grandmother's line."

"The Egin/Greengrass line however is a different story. Your mother is listed as the oldest daughter of the last confirmed Lord Greengrass which is quite unusual. I remember that there was a business venture owned by the Egin family in Japan. My understanding is that it was liquidated by Bran's father Cadfan. Perhaps Bran's relationship with Yoko was the reason why, however that is purely speculation on my part. 

Regardless it is likely that Bran never knew he had a daughter with Yoko; despite his marriage and later offspring, Yuri was never disinherited. With the death of Lord Greengrass and his progeny in the fire at Malfoy Manor, you my Princes are the sole heirs to the Egin/Greengrass magics and material goods. The next step would be to confirm your head of house status and acceptance by the family grimoire before you can access the vaults and properties, congratulations."

Rin and Yukio were stunned to find out they were suddenly Lords of a British wizarding house. It didn't trump finding out they were the biological sons of Satan but it did rank up there on the scale of random weirdness in their life.

Director Golg handed the Okumura parchment off to an archivist to update the records. "An official copy of the original document is available upon request. Who is next."

Harry groaned and slid her parchment across the table. "I already have a fair idea of how this is going to pan out but go ahead Director Golg and tell me anyway."   

Director Golg took the parchment and carefully shook it out. He glanced over it. "Are you sure you want me to read this out loud?"

"Yeah." Harry said softly. "This is my family, they know most of it anyway."

Director Golg blew out a breath. "Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, blood sister of Shiemi Moriyama. Your father was Lord James Potter, son of the previous Lord Potter, Fleamont and Lady Euphemia "Effie" Potter nee Black."

"You are a main line Black by blood and are confirmed head of house Black. Your mother was Lily Jacinta Potter nee Lilith Jocasta Gaunt." 

Harry sucked in a sharp breath. "She knew?! She legally changed her name when she married my dad?"

Director Golg gave Harry a grim look. "Muggle adoption paperwork means little to magic. I cannot verify if she was aware that she initiated a magical name change above and beyond her last name when she married Lord Potter. The forms would simply record and update what she filled in. Identity magic is quite a tricky thing; if she hadn't truly believed she was Lily Jacinta Potter the magic wouldn't have accepted the change."

"I am...very sorry to say, I believe that if she had known the truth of her magical heritage the tragic events that led to the murder of your parents would have played out very differently."

Harry sighed. "I apologize for my outburst Director Golg, please continue." 

Director Golg nodded. "Yes my Princess. Your maternal grandmother was a Gaunt, your maternal grandfather was a Gaunt making you the last direct heir of Salazar Slythern, a feat that Tom Riddle never managed despite his outlandish claims."

Harry laughed. "Too bad no one ever thought to ask the Goblins if Tom Riddle was the actual Heir of Slytherin, that would have put a pin in his plans straight from the outset!"

Director Golg smiled nastily. "Now that would have been fantastic to see, all that wizard trash trying to cover up their association with the bastard half blood."

"If I take up the mantle of Lady Slytherin can I posthumously sue him for fraudulent representation and defamation of the character of the most Ancient and Noble house of Slytherin." Harry asked bluntly.

Director Golg laughed out loud. "I would pay money to see that happen!"

"Wonderful!" Harry glanced sideways at Amaimon and seeing his nod of assent she continued. "By King Amaimon's leave let us negotiate terms when we have finished the more pressing business of the day."

Director Golg smiled sharply. "I look forward to our mutual satisfaction my Princess. Continuing on, you are the sole Heir of Peverell by all three main lines so that makes you head of house, and as heir of Griffindor you just need to see if the vault accepts you to be able to claim head of house, you already meet all the other criteria as the wielder of the Sword of Griffindor, Champion of Hogwarts and Defender of Hogsmeade."

"There are a number of defunct cadet branches that can be rolled into a main vault under your control as well as vaults that were bequeathed to you that have been in stasis pending your legal status. You also have right of conquest to any holdings that were owned by a vassel lord of Voldemort that died without heirs to supercede your claim."

Harry nodded to indicate her understanding. "I will need an audit before we consolidate vaults, considering who they were owned by I don't doubt that there are some nasty bits that should be disposed of. Do you know if Severus Snape is still alive?"

"Yes, he is still the potions professor at Hogwarts." Director Golg said sourly.

Harry laughed. "I know he's a nasty piece of work but that man literally stood between me and a fully transformed werewolf. I later saved him from a potentially lethal dementor attack so there is no life debt between us but he deserves better than to be tarred and feathered by Dumbledore's brush. I would like to retain him as an asset, see if he is willing to be contracted as a third party dark arts specialist for the audit and then we will go from there." Harry became aware of Amaimon's slow chuckle and blushed.

"You are precious Imouto-chan." Amaimon said in a bored drawl with a lazy flash of his fangs. "I approve of the use of bank resources to secure a contract with Master Snape sufficient to gain his complete independence from Albus Dumbledore. I further authorize the use of curse breakers and ritual cleansing to remove any existent oaths or compulsions. The loan will made with a return of 1% interest plus retention of any artifacts deemed unsafe for wizards but useful for Goblin kind, if you find that agreeable Angharad-chan."

Still blushing Harry bowed. "Thank you your Highness, I agree to your very generous terms."

"Excellent, Director Golg you are authorized to inform Master Snape of the Lady Potter-Black's continued survival if it is necessary to secure his contract. Document everything, he may provide physical evidence of coercion that could be valuable to the case against Dumbledore."

"Yes your Highness." Director Golg affirmed.

Turning back to Harry's blood test Director Golg continued his analysis. "There are only three things worth mentioning that stand out here, through your blood sister Shiemi Moriyama you have a second maternal progenitor, and through a connection that is not very clear you share a paternal progenitor with his Highness, King Amaimon.

Director Golg paused solemnly before continuing. "Unfortunately I did not save the best for last. I am sorry to inform that the title Master of Death is showing up on your magical documents. We will investigate the matter and see how we can work around that undesirable association in the future my Princess."

Amaimon took in Harry's thin lipped, sour expression. "Director Golg, go ahead with your investigation but there is a possibility that the Lady Potter-Black's esoteric title will be revealed during the trial against Dumbledore."

"Understood your Highness." Director Golg said as he held his gnarled, long fingered hand out for Shiemi's parchment.

Blushing Shiemi slid it across the table.

Director Golg shook the parchment out and smoothed it down. "Shiemi Moriyama, blood Sister to Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, you share your maternal progenitor with Lady Potter-Black and she in turn shares the the same paternal progenitor that she has in common with his Highness King Amaimon. My Princess, you do not have any other lineage but you do have a significant number of half sisters."

Shiemi's face showed her confusion. "Can I see that for a moment please?"

Director Golg slid the parchment over to her. Shiemi ran her fingertips along the names that were only attached to her through their common maternal progenitor. "Mother and Grandmother are my sisters but not? We don't share any human relatives at all, how is that possible?" 

Amaimon laid a hand gently over her trembling fingers as Mephisto spoke haltingly and obliquely. 

"Shemihaza is the Emperor of creation. The normal means of obtaining a host body in this realm are an anathema to him."

Mephisto's face twisted in concentration. "......creation has always blessed his followers with fertility in return for his influence..... a way of continuing to experience Assiah.......vicariously.....your family are the last of such followers....... Your mother physically carried you in her womb.......but the magic doesn't see her as your mother." 

Mephisto struggled for a moment trying to find the right words to express his meaning without provoking his contractual bindings. "There were....extenuating circumstances....you couldn't be conceived the usual way...."

Mephisto stalled and stopped, pensively quaffing the dregs of his cold tea.

In the wake his silence Harry placed a hand on Shiemi's arm. "Shiemi-chan they are still your mother and your grandmother because they loved you and raised you. I know your mother is not the most responsible and present of mothers but you also have all of us now. And we love you Shiemi-chan. Besides, after the clusterfuck of my ancestry it's kind of nice to think that you don't have that kind of baggage. Shiemi Moriyama can be whatever Shiemi Moriyama wants to be....just, please don't be sad, not because of this."

Shiemi sniffed. "Thank you Nee-san, I will try." she slid the parchment back to Director Golg.

Director Golg handed the parchment off to an archivist. "All that is left to mention is that you are are Lady Potter-Black's direct heir, so whatever houses she is head of you will be heir apparent and any children you may have will be in line to inherit." 

"Thank you Director Golg." Amaimon said sedately. "Our next step is to confer Head of House status to the Lords Okumura-Egin and to do the same for Lady Potter-Black."

"Your Highness, I can have the Egin/Greengrass and the Potter grimoires brought up immediately." Director Golg signaled discretely for exactly that. "Unfortunately the Gryffindor and Slytherin vaults must be visited in person."

"That's fine." Amaimon said. "Do we want to take a short break while Angharad-chan visits the vaults?"

"Yes, your Highness. That would be ideal." Mephisto said distractedly as he traced the rim of his empty teacup with a lavender gloved fingertip.

"Griphook excellent timing." Amaimon directly addressed the startled Goblin who had just walked into the room. 

"Your Highness, curse breaker Weasly-Delacour is in the hall." Griphook said with a bow. 

"Please bring her in and then escort Lady Potter-Black to the Slytherin and Gryffindor vaults." Amaimon stood and poured Mephisto a fresh cup of tea.

"Anuie, are you ok?" Amaimon asked quietly as he placed the new tea cup down and retrieved the empty.

"Yes your Highness, just feeling a little sadly nostalgic I think." Mephisto said wistfully.

"Why would you want to feel that?" Amaimon asked in confusion.

Mephisto laughed heartily. "For no good reason I'm sure! Thank you Amaimon-chan, as usual you have cheered me up considerably."

Amaimon simply shrugged and turned to tend to Shiemi while Harry spoke lowly to Yukio before turning and walking purposefully towards the door. 

Harry made it all of 10 steps before a silvery blond blur collided with her and attempted to squeeze her to death.

"Fleur...." Harry gasped. "...... can't breathe."

Fleur reluctantly put Harry down and immediately burst into loud dramatic tears of joy.

Harry calmly held Fleur's hands and looked into her red rimmed, leaky eyes. "Angelus is here too. I'm going to leave you with him for a few minutes and then I will be right back. Ok?"  

Fleur nodded her head, completely overwhelmed as Harry steeped back and Arthur stepped forward. As Harry walked to where Griphook was waiting patiently she looked back to see Arthur speaking soothingly to his older sister in French and was struck by how much they resembled each other. 

Arthur was golden like the sun where Fleur was silvery like the moon but they both had the same blue eyes and tall athletic body type. Harry sighed, she knew way too many good looking people. 

She turned to Griphook who flashed her a shark like grin. "All right, like the good old times Griphook, you lead and I follow. This time do us both a favor and skip the gruesome stories. Not that I don't enjoy your company but it's already been a very long day for me."

Griphook gave Harry the Goblin equivalent of a surprised expression, which only served to make him look more fierce. "I am astonished you remember so well."

"It's a bit hard to forget the Goblin who taught me that only a dead wizard steals from a goblin." Harry said wryly.

Griphook broke out into a gravelly chuffing laughter. "Just for that we'll skip the carts and take the lift."

Harry nodded her head. "Good, you wouldn't have liked me throwing up on you anyway."

The door shut behind them and Rin turned his attention back to Arthur and his sister who, despite her tears and emotional distress, he couldn't help but imagine with significantly less clothing.

Mephisto noticed Rin's appreciative gaze and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Veela are all genuinely attractive and tend to look very similar, however they also have an aura that draws people in that they call allure."

Mephisto leaned back slightly as Rin turned to look at him. "For beings such as her sex is as much a weapon as it is a pleasurable past time."

Rin shrugged. "At least she's aware of it. Some people are like that but the don't acknowledge that they use their bodies that way."

Mephisto quirked an eyebrow. "Speaking from experience?"

"Not personally, no, but I spend a lot of time watching people, and it's something I have seen play out over and over."

"You are right of course, our kind will forever be considered monstrous, but at least we are true to ourselves." 

Rin considered Mephisto thoughtfully for a moment. Absolutely, he was an obnoxious busybody with terrible comedic timing and even worse taste in clothes but he was also someone who stuck his neck out for what he believed in. 

Rin knew that the abstract, potential long term benefit of keeping him and Yukio alive did not outweigh the immediate difficulty or inherent danger of associating with them. For the first time Rin could appreciate just how much Mephisto stood to lose if it all went wrong. 

Rin looked directly into Mephisto's tired green eyes with their subtly slitted pupils and imagined for a moment that Shiro was there beside him. 

Rin snorted. "If the old man were here he would heckle me endlessly about saying this but I feel like it needs to be said." 

"I know, that you know, that your personality pisses me off at times." Rin smiled ruefully. "Which makes you act that much more obnoxiously because I am, apparently, fun to get a rise out of."

Rin shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, you are definitely a sneaky self serving bastard of an Oniisan, but you are MY sneaky self serving bastard of an Oniisan. If you were anything less than true to yourself then you would have made significantly different choices and we wouldn't be here having this conversation. So thanks for being you I guess."

Mephisto propped his cheek on the back of his hand and regarded Rin warmly. 

"As long as you will tolerate my meddling I  will never tire of winding you up my dearest Rin-chan. Your passionate nature is delightfully intense and I have always been one to stand as close to the fire as possible." 

Rin rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably for a moment as if he was considered a weighty issue. Seemingly coming to a decision he leaned in close to whisper in Mephisto's ear.

"When you have some time on your hands Anuie I would appreciate it if you could help me organize a day off for Yuki-chan."

Mephisto cast a side eyed glance where Yukio sat with his elbows propped on the table and his head in his hands. "Certainly, left to his own devices Yuki-chan runs himself into the ground, he has no concept of restraint. I am grateful that you have recognized the issue and are being proactive."

Rin shrugged. "He's my Otouto, so he's my responsibility. I will help him in anyway that he will let me."

"Precisely." Mephisto said with burning intensity.

"I am going to sit with him until Harry is back." Rin said as he slipped from his seat.

Mephisto inclined his head in acknowledgement of Rin's statement and placidly resumed watching the spectacle of Arthur talking his older sister through the process of accepting the fact that Harry Potter was indeed alive and well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A billion virtual cookies so anyone who gets the literary reference of the chapter title. 
> 
> Of course you could always Google it, and even if you read the book you may still have to Google it.
> 
> I read the book years ago, despite my very strong visual memory for literature I still went 'craaaap, what the hell was that word in Greek!?'.
> 
> LOL
> 
>  
> 
> Translation notes:
> 
> Egin literally means new grass/ green grass/ new growth in Welsh, as the Greengrass' are a *Welsh* pureblood family according to Pottermore......
> 
> I. Jumped. All. Over. That. Shit.
> 
> .......as soon as I was finished cackling at how perfect it was. I even got to tie in some actual canon manga background for Yuri's mother, so nice when things conveniently come together!


	28. The Fangs of The Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Griphook have an unfriendly chat and stumble upon a pair of unlikely artifacts. (Spooky!)
> 
> Griphook schools Harry on the Goblin Rebellion. (Gasp!)
> 
> Paperwork is signed. (Riveting!)
> 
> Mephisto is thrilled to have the opportunity to play dress up with Yukio and Rin. (Kinky!.....not really! Get yer mind outta the gutter!)

Harry walked a little behind Griphook, thoroughly enjoying the novelty of seeing the working side of the bank.

The hallway they were traveling down was wide but every couple of yards there were clever chokepoints created by massive columns. Along the top of the walls arrow slits were camouflaged with phenomenally detailed friezes. All in all it was quite pretty for a death trap.

Harry snorted sardonically. "Let me guess, the ceiling rains down whatever sufficiently obnoxious fluid is desired and if need be the floor opens into a smelting pit."

Griphook faltered slightly as he walked and cast an evil look over his shoulder at her.

"You don't have to answer, I think it's pretty brilliant actually." Harry rambled speculatively. "This bank is a literal fortress and knowing what I know about my brothers I think it's safe to say that this is the real bank and the so called "branches" just serve as portals to the topside."

"Wizards just assume that everything must be bigger on the inside, they never question where they are. I bet we are smack dab in the middle of the Antarctic continent right now."

Griphook stopped dead in his tracks and whipped around to face her with a snarl. "Not another word from you wizard kin! I don't know who your brothers are but I will find out, and if they are Gringotts employees I will make sure that they are punished to the full extent of Goblin law."

Harry stopped and eyed Griphook with a cool expression. "I forgot you weren't in the meeting earlier." 

She sighed. "And here I thought we were coming along with our playful banter and you might condescend to have a conversation with me above and beyond the normal thinly veiled threats."

"In what way would I profit from conversing with the likes of you?!" Griphook sneered around his wickedly sharp teeth.

Harry shrugged lightly. "Well for one, you could ask me who my brothers are; I would be happy to tell you truthfully to spare you the effort of tracking them down."

Griphook grit his teeth in irritation. "Pray, tell me wizard kin, who your loathsome brothers are, so that I may ligate them with their own entrails."

Harry laughed raucously. "That's fantastic! You should get a promotion! Seriously, you are delightfully vicious."

Griphook looked like he was on the verge of launching an attack.

Harry held out her hands to show she was unarmed. "Look, I apologize for assuming you knew me well enough for me to take liberties with my conversation."

Griphook maintained his ready stance, his face an angry shade of red, and growled.

"That you are The Girl Who Lived means nothing to me! I serve at my King Amaimon's behest and for no other reason. Tell me who your brothers are now wizard kin as I am losing my patience!"

"I share a paternal progenitor, I suppose you could call him a father in the loosest sense of the word, with Princes Rin and Yukio Okumura, King Mephisto Pheles and King Amaimon."

Griphook's face drained of color so quickly he swayed.

Harry jumped forward to grasp him by the shoulders. "Woah! Don't pass out! We have vaults to get to!"

Griphook shook her hands off and upon recovering his equilibrium, gave her a fierce look. "Prove it."

Harry shrugged and called on her piercingly blue flames. Just for show she vaporized the columns to the right and the left of where she was standing, leaving nothing behind but their white hot and slightly melted pedestals.

"My Princess." Griphook bowed low and then grimaced as he stood. "I beg your indulgence, please allow me to fulfill my King Amaimon's directive to escort you to the Gryffindor and Slytherin vaults before you seek your satisfaction."

Harry shrugged. "Yeah fine, I need to get this head of house business out of the way so we can draw up the betrothal contract. It won't do Amaimon and Shiemi any good to have to amend the bloody thing after the fact."

Griphook walked forward again with Harry hot on his heels. "Say Griphook, do you know much about swords?"

"Yes Princess." He responded gruffly. "It was my forefather Ragnuk the First that forged the sword of Gryffindor."

"Oh!" Harry said in genuine surprise. "I did not know that! Would you like to see it?"

Griphook faltered in his steps for a second time. "If I am permitted, it is my deepest wish to see it before I die."

Harry stopped walking. "You don't have to wait that long.  Here, stop for a moment; it's pretty dangerous to handle and we don't need any accidents."

Griphook stopped and turned to regard her somewhat unconventional wizard clothing. He did not see a sheath or a strap on her body and was totally unprepared when the sword suddenly appeared in her hand.

She reversed her grip on the hilt and held it towards him pommel first. "Touch the edge of the blade and you will die in agonizing pain and despair. I killed Slytherin's basilisk with this thing and it has absorbed some of a dementor's essence as well."

Trembling Griphook watched his hand reach out, and as if in a dream grasped the hilt dazedly.

The point of the sword dropped slightly as Harry let go but Griphook quickly compensated. He held the sword up and caught sight of his reflection in it's mirror like surface.

"Slytherin's basilisk?" he asked in a thick voice.

"Yeah it had been living under Hogwarts for just about a thousand years but I figured it must have been in stasis most of that time." Harry frowned thoughtfully.

"Tom Riddle used it to kill another student when he was there so it was at least fifty years old plus however old it was before it went into stasis." She shook her head. "Not that it really matters, it was definitely mature and wicked fast despite being about 15 meters long."

Harry pulled back her sleeve and showed Griphook the round gnarled scar on her right forearm. "It got a fang in me as I stabbed through the roof of it's mouth and into it's brain."

Harry grimaced. "Not a very heroic story actually but it was half mad and wouldn't listen to reason. The whole thing was a bit like putting down a rabid dog."

Griphook examined the etching on the blade, careful to touch only the flat and saw the slight iridescent sheen of basilisk venom that coated the razor sharp edges. Moving down the blade he was surprised to see a delicate lace of hoarfrost rhimeing the tip.

Griphook flicked his eyes to Harry for just a moment to see her watching him carefully.

"Dementor. Stabbed it through the chest in a desperate moment, not really expecting it to do more than startle the creature." Harry shrugged. "I was surprised when it disintegrated. Since then I have been able to summon something very similar to a dementor's aura with the sword, though I haven't tried actively working with that ability much."

Harry hummed thoughtfully. "I have no idea what the sword picked up from Voldemort after I cut the bloody wankers head off."

"My understanding of it is that the sword only takes in that which makes it stronger. Ultimately Tom was a rather nasty wizard but I have a hard time imaging any quality of his the sword would deem worthy."

Harry laughed. "Perhaps his ability to bullshit and misdirect, we'll see the next time I have to feint."

Griphook carefully held out the sword for Harry to take back and watched intently as she casually let it wink out of existence.

They walked along in silence until they reached a wall of service lifts with a smaller lift for personnel off to one side.

Griphook pulled aside the outer and inner lift gates and gestured for Harry to enter. He then snapped them closed and engaged the mechanism to lower the lift.

"You are right my Princess, the sword only takes in what makes it stronger."

Griphook looked torn between grudging respect and dismay. "You have wielded it well. When did you kill the Basilisk?"

"Second year, I was twelve."

"The dementor?"

"Third year, I was thirteen. I killed Tom's familiar Nagini at fourteen and Tom at fifteen."

"And you are now...?"

Harry sighed. "Sort of fifteen but not really. My body stopped aging while I was in limbo. At this point I don't know if I am going to age more or if this is it."

Griphook nodded sagely. "I can think of few things less terrible than being perpetually, biologically fifteen. Goblin kits are fairly slow to mature but the analogous time in our life cycle is particularly challenging. You have my sympathy."

"Thanks, it could be worse, I could be dead. Thankfully the last time Tom nailed me with the killing curse it was just as effective as the first time."

Griphook shifted slightly looking decidedly awkward at the reminder of her seeming inability to die. He cast around for some way to change the topic during their long descent. "The founders vaults are very deep but we will be there soon. What was it you wanted to ask me about swords?"

"Prince Yukio Okumura needs a sword, or two given that he is accustomed to wielding two pistols. The swords have to be capable of channeling his flames, which are the same as mine. His brother Rin has the sword Kuikara and Yukio just found out that Rin's apprenticeship contract with swordmaster Arthur Delacour also applies to him."

Griphook gave her a questioning look.

"They are identical twins and soon to be the new Lords Greengrass through their mother's side."

Griphook crossed his arms and leaned against the lift wall. "Kurikara, the sword of discriminative consciousness, the transformative power of the dragon Kurikura, one of the Naga Rajas. That is a sword with few peers, without access to the archives and an audit book I can't tell you if you possess anything of that caliber within your holdings."

"Crap." Harry stated with feeling. "I have put through the audit request but that's going to take time we don't have, Yukio needs something quickly. Would you mind checking the Gryffindor and Slytherin vaults with me for anything that may work? I know it's outside the scope of what Amaimon ordered you to do but I would be happy to pay you for your time."

"I will assist you my Princess but I will not accept payment."

Harry nodded. "As you wish."

Griphook watched the device that indicated the floor number and stopped the lift mechanism with precise economical movements.

"We are here." He said as he opened the lift gates.

"Hooray." Harry cheered quietly. "Now what."

Griphook took a lantern from a hook on the wall next to the lift. "Which vault would you like to visit first?"

Harry frowned. "Lets get Slytherin out of the way and then we can do Gryffindor."

Griphook walked down the left hand side of a rough hewn stone path with the lantern in his hand, causing the rocks around them to glow sympathetically creating a gentle omnidirectional light. 

"The vaults belonging to the founders of Hogwarts are...unique. They are personal vaults and once your access is confirmed you can utilize the contents in any way that does not permanently damage them. For example if you were to take a document from the vault and burn it, the document would immediately re-appear in the vault, undamaged."

"Got it." Harry said firmly as they came to a solid rock wall.

Griphook stopped and stepped aside. "This is the door, bleed on it and command it to open."

Harry silently conjured a small pin and pierced the skin of her left ring finger. She absently stuck the pin in her shirt for safekeeping.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to be bleeding more later. No sense in cutting up all my fingers." She muttered more to herself as Griphook obviously didn't care about her bleeding and was more impressed by the wandless, silent conjuration.

Once she had a reasonable amount of blood on her fingertip she pressed it to the stone wall and hissed "Open".

The stone rippled and became translucent before suddenly liquefying and swiftly dripping down to become a cascading sheet of water.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Harry asked a slightly stunned Griphook.

"Yes, the waterfall is a passive defense against entry forced by coercion." Griphook said absently.

"I never thought I would see this vault opened."

"Well come on then, take my hand and let's do a quick check for suitable swords." Harry held out her hand as Griphook hastily set the lamp down.

He grimaced in discomfort as Harry grasped his long fingers and pulled him through the waterfall behind her.

The emerged on the other side spluttering and soaking wet.

"Drying charm?" Harry offered.

Griphook grimaced. "Let's do what we came to do first. We are likely to get wet on the way out as well."

Harry nodded and began looking around the somewhat spartan chamber. Along one wall were a series of shelves containing capsa interspersed with pigeonholes overflowing with tightly rolled and bound scrolls.

A low table held two sturdy work lamps and various chests and strong boxes were stacked along the floor against the far wall.

Griphook spoke up from where he was inspecting a tall narrow cabinet. "There are a number of pikes and halbards, even a glaive but no swords."

Harry watched as he closed the cabinet. "All right, I don't think any of the chests here are large enough to contain a sword, what do you think?"

Griphook cast a gimlet eye over the the chests and sighed. "Agreed, and these are too old to have decent extension charms."

Harry held out her hand and Griphook clasped her fingers in his as they walked out through the waterfall.

Harry laughed. "Ok now we're dry."

Looking back she saw the waterfall was now a solid rock wall again. "That was a really strange enchantment."

Griphook squirmed uncomfortably as he brushed off his sleeves and vest. "Quite." he said in agreement.

He picked up the lantern and walked back the way they came. Coming to the main hall again they walked forward into a side chamber and then took a right.

The narrow hallway ended abruptly with a heavy blued steel door with no visible keyhole, handle or hinges.

Griphook stopped and turned to Harry. "The sword must be summoned through the door with the hilt forming the door handle. This is why the other titles are also required before the mantle of Gryffindor can be taken up, one who does not have the loyalty of the sword cannot open the vault."

Harry was impressed by the depth of Griphooks knowledge. "Wow, do you have all the details about these vaults memorized?"

Griphook snorted. "That would be a massive security risk. The stones contain the information we need about each vault and the enchantment on the hallway will disrupt my memory of the specific vault."

Harry hummed. "That's smart."

Griphook nodded and stepped aside. It only took Harry a second to manifest the sword and open the door.

"Blimey." Harry goggled at the sheer opulence of the room. Everything was a blinding mishmash of gold gilt, furs, silk draperies and scintillating tapestries.

Griphook silently followed Harry in and immediately began rummaging through the racks of weapons against the wall.

"I think I found something." Griphook called out after a few minutes, effectively distracting Harry from a tapestry depicting a very friendly group of quite naked water nymphs enjoying a swim.

Harry hurried over to where Griphook was holding two short inwardly curved swords in beautiful silver scabbards. The swords were probably a bit shy of 80 centimetres by Harry's estimate and instead of having a guard, the hilt had elaborately carved silver grips that flared out dramatically near where a pommel would be.

The intricate detailing on the grips and hilt included inlays of tiny, perfectly faceted, brown, yellow and black diamonds which made each hilt look like it was topped by a stylized cobra in a defensive posture.

Harry cleared a space on a nearby table so Griphook could lay the swords down.

"These are Turkish yatağan." Griphook drew the swords from their scabbard and laid them side by side.

"I cannot sense any active enchantments in the blades but the quality is exceptional and I expect they have some hidden attribute."

"It's almost like they are asleep or hibernating, a hum just below the surface." Harry said wonderingly.

Griphook nodded. "You can feel it too, passive not active but there is indeed something there."

They were nearly identical, each sword with one razor sharp edge honed into beautifully folded Damascus steel. The impurities in the blades resembled rippling water in the flickering torchlight and leaning forward Harry was just able to make out a detailed silver inlay.

"Griphook, can you read this?" Harry asked as she admired the beautiful looping script.

Griphook narrowed his eyes. "Not with any great accuracy. It appears to be a combination of Ottoman Turkish and symbolic glyphs that I am not at all familiar with."

"Here and here." He said pointing to different spots on the blade. "Silent, swift and then there is this, tooth?"

Harry reached for the other sword and held it at eye level. "The fangs of the dragon dance swiftly in silence and all fall before their might."

Griphook gave Harry an annoyed look. "You were speaking in snake language."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Once you read out those three words the rest of it just clicked together in my head." Harry repeated the inscription in English while Griphook looked pensive.

Harry set the sword back on the table. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say these swords probably belonged to Salazar Slytherin."

Griphook frowned. "While the snake motif is compelling, Hogwarts was founded in 990 CE. The style of blade can be traced back thousands of years but these particular swords just aren't that old. I would say late 1800's based on the materials and workmanship."

Harry shook her head. "Salazar Slytherin was the son of Cadmus Peverell and I know for a fact that at least one of the Peverell's unrestricted time turners survived until my mother's generation. It's entirely too coincidental for those to belong to anyone else."

Griphook covered his shock by launching into a lecture. "The story goes that Gryffindor and Slytherin dueled over the admission of non pure blood students into Hogwarts."

"That is a partial truth. Slytherin argued that with limiting the admission of human students to the children of magical families the school would be able to accommodate non human magical children as well." Griphook said after a few minutes of silent contemplation.

"Gryffindor argued that non human magicals already had their own methods in place to train their young and that the purpose of Hogwarts should be to train human magical children, in particular those who's parents were not magical to prevent them from coming to harm."

"Slytherin's counter argument to this was that they consider taking young magical children from non magical homes and place them with magical families. Gryffindor was outraged by this, he was an orphan and placed great emphasis on family."

Harry shook her head. "His mother was a tavern girl who prostituted, she got pregnant by Antioch Peverell and gave the child to her mother to raise. Her mother was married with other children by her lord so Godric was given his Grandmothers maiden name Gryffindor and grew up as the bastard child in the home."

"That explains much in regards to his motives and the use of a time turner also explains this next mystery. Slytherin was adamant and would not compromise on his position, even after Gryffindor convinced the other founders to take his side."

He spared a glance at the swords. "I am guessing their duel was a physical one with swords and not a wizard's duel as we are led to believe. Gryffindor was able to overpower Slytherin and disarm him, which is why the swords are in his vault. Slytherin mysteriously disappeared shortly after."

Griphook sneered. "Hogwarts continued down the path Griffindor wanted and all was fairly uneventful until the Wizards Council ruled to begin regulation of magical foci. The rules became successively more stringent as wizarding enchanters sought to undermine goblin made competition."

"When the Wizengamot was formed all the non human voting seats from the original council were eliminated and laws were passed to only allow graduates of Hogwarts or a similarly accredited school to handle or possess wands."

Griphook paused for a moment to calm himself as he was becoming increasingly agitated.

"Older generations were grandfathered in and families scrambled to get their children into Hogwarts. At the same time the reported incidents of squib births skyrocketed as even well to do families tried to trim the fat." Griphook growled. "After all, Hogwarts is a school that requires a certain level of magical ability to attend, suddenly everyone who didn't meet the requirements were labeled as non magical magic born and became social pariahs overnight."

Harry caught herself staring at the incensed goblin and shook herself. "That explains a lot about how wizarding culture here became so twisted. It sounds like the so called pureblood families created their own problems. By rejecting their "squib" offspring into the muggle world they created massive waves of magical children born from non magical families."

"So Slytherin was trying to change the future and in doing so he made it come to pass. If he had stayed true to his values he could have developed his agenda in tandem with the school and continued to influence the up and coming generations."

Griphook snorted. "Unfortunately he didn't and there were no moderates to prevent the almost complete collapse the economy, which in a culture where literally anything can be conjured, repaired or transfigured, was mostly built around high level specialty foci."

"With only wizards who have at least passed school at an O.W.L. level are allowed to have a wand and because nonhuman magicals are not typically admitted to magical schools, following in the tradition of Hogwarts, we were barred from using wands. The enchanters were then left with massive amounts of stock and no legal buyers. That didn't stop the black market from moving forwards but it did significantly reduce the amount of tax that was able to be collected and the request for loans from Gringott's shot through the roof."

"How did the bank react?"

Griphook leered evilly. "We told them to fuck right off."

Harry laughed. "Let me guess, the so called "Goblin rebellions?"

Griphook nodded. "King Amaimon was quite incensed with the wizards for overstepping their authority. Despite his poor health at the time he was able to wring a number of concessions from them before things settled down. His new vessel is a quite welcome change, we were all becoming very worried for him."

Harry smiled and laid a hand comfortingly on Griphook's shoulder. "I am happy to hear he has such loyal subjects. Let's get these swords back upstairs so he and Shiemi can get betrothed."

Griphook nodded and sheathed the swords. Harry rolled them in a small mundane tapestry and cast a incarcerous on the bundle.

They walked the short way back to the lift and ascended to the upper bank in companionable silence.

Once they reached the desired floor Griphook stopped the lift and turned to face Harry. "There is a more direct way back my Princess, if you don't mind dark small spaces."

"It's fine." Harry said casually.

Griphook walked to the wall opposite the lift and pressed slightly. A small door popped open and ushering Harry into the cramped tunnel ahead of him he turned and shut the door.

Harry could feel Griphook shimmy around her, despite the total darkness he seemed to know exactly where he was going.

Harry startled slightly as she felt him firmly grip her unoccupied hand. "No light is permitted so I will guide. The way is much shorter than the hall."

It was disorienting in the extreme to walk in complete darkness. Harry shivered, the sensation off nothingness pressing in and eating away at her was barely being held back by Griphook's gnarled fingers squeezing her own.

Harry let out an involuntary noise of distress. "Almost there my Princess, just a few steps further."

Griphook towed a gasping Harry into light and pushed her to lean against the cool marble of the wall. She shivered and stared at nothing for a few seconds before she took a deep breath and hefted the bundled swords. "All right Griphook, let's get this over with."

Harry opened the gold filigree door across from her and strode into the room conference room casually.

"See Fleur, I said I would be back and here I am." Harry said with a cheeky grin.

"You took more than a half an hour." Fleur said with exasperated fondness.

Harry smiled apologetically as she took her seat. "Those vaults were really deep."

"Was the Lady Potter-Black successful." Amaimon asked Griphook directly.

Griphook bowed. "Your Highness, she has confirmed access to both vaults and the contents therein."  he paused and stayed bowed. "Your Highness, I must report myself for insubordination."

Amaimon's bored expression didn't shift but his voice registered slight curiosity. "Oh, how so?"

All the blood was rushing to the tips of Griphooks ears and nose giving them a mottled purple appearance. "I confronted her about her seemingly insider knowledge of the Nation and threatened her until she demonstrated her ability with the royal flames."

Amaimon's expression flickered slightly. "Angharad-chan what satisfaction do you demand?"

A wicked grin crossed Harry's face. "Goblin Griphook is a suspicious, conniving, vicious, mean spirited blighter. He is also fiercely loyal to your Highness and his transgressions, while serious, were all in the interest of the Nation. The only thing to do with a goblin such as this is to promote him. I will be satisfied to see him advance to a position that is relative to his ability, he's obviously being wasted as a junior associate."

Amaimon turned to Director Golg. "I want an accurate assessment of Griphook's skills and knowledge, both Goblin and non Goblin matters, compiled and to me by the end of the week."

Amaimon turned back to Griphook. "At that time I will see to your promotion, you are dismissed."

"Yes your Highness." Griphook maintained his deferential posture until he completely backed out of the room.

Amaimon addressed Director Golg. "The Potter grimoire please."

As Director Golg slid the massive tome across the table Amaimon addressed Harry again. "Rin-chan and Yukio-chan have already confirmed their lordship and I had the betrothal contact drawn up while we were waiting for you to return."

Harry pulled the grimoire in front of her closer. "Sounds good your Highness, what do I need to do with this book?"

Amaimon passed her an inkwell and a quill. "Simply sign the roll page. If the magic accepts you, your name will appear where you write it otherwise...." he trailed off into a shrug.

Harry opened the strangely bound book and leafed through the first few pages of names until she reached a blank spot, her father's name stood out on the snowy parchment like a ghost. She took a breath and started slightly as the quill touched the page and her hand began moving on it's own. She stared at her signed name in shock. "Princess Angharad Lilith Potter Black Peverell Slytherin Griffindor, Master of Death?! Merlin! That's ridiculous!"

Shiemi looked over Harry's arm and began giggling. "You do have a very long name Nee-san!"

Harry snapped the book shut and pushed it back to Director Golg. "You mean we have a very long name Shiemi-Chan!"

Shiemi's giggles turned into a groan.

Director Golg passed the Potter grimorie off to a scribe and slid the Delacour adoption contract across the table. "We decided to forgo the blood rite given the complicated nature of his Highness's family, in particular the concern being a backfeed of your paternal progenitor's abilities into the court."

Harry snorted as she reviewed the document. "Veela are terrifying enough as it is without the addition of literal hellfire."

"And this all meets with your approval Fleur?" Harry asked, turning slightly to look at Fleur who was sitting further down the table.

Fleur nodded. "Qui! I am happy to be able to offer you and your blood sister a place in the court." Her voice dropped into a softer tone. "I'm happier that you are alive sister, the loss of you has weighed heavily on us, Arthur and I."

Fleur clapped her hands together. "But enough of that, now you are home and you bring with you a lovely young women that I am excited to get to know!"

Harry smiled. "I am blessed to have such extraordinary sisters."

Both Fleur and Shiemi blushed prettily at the compliment while Harry signed the contract with a flourish. She passed the contract to Shiemi who also signed her name, the foreign English surnames requiring that she add a significant amount of katakana to her usual kanji.

Director Golg smiled as he passed the contract to a junior associate.

"The betrothal contract for King Amaimon and Princess Shiemi Moriyama Potter Black Peverell Slytherin Griffindor Delacour." Director Golg twitched. "My, that is a mouthful." he murmured.

Harry laughed. "See! That's what I've been saying! It's terrible!"

Mephisto snorted. "You could roll the names back to their oldest common lineage and simply use Peverell and Delacour."

Harry gave him a penetrating look. "That wouldn't bother you?"

Mephisto waved off her concern. "Angharad Lilith Peverell Delacour has a nice rhythm to it."

Mephisto chuckled and gave her a sideways glance. "You and I will have to perfect our song and dance if we are to entice the sheep onto the correct path."

Harry looked at him in slack jawed amazement before laughing heartily. "And here I thought you didn't listen to a damn thing I said!"

Mephisto's smiled mysteriously.

Director Golg gestured to a member of the secretarial pool who was furiously writing. "Goblin Bloodreign is drafting the necessary form for your name consolidation my Princess. There is a certain amount of visualization and belief that goes into changing a name in the eyes of magic. After all, there is a certain amount of magic in a name itself."

"Will the name consolidation also consolidate the vaults?" Harry asked worriedly.

Director Golg shook his head. "No, the houses are still separate entities, we are simply....folding the more recent names into their common family name.

"It sounds a bit like the name equivalent to a root directory." Yukio mused out loud.

Director Golg spared him a tiny smile. "Precisely my Prince. Also, you would be surprised how often magic, in particular wards and enchantments, can be scripted analogously using boolean logic. We have been experimenting with various programming languages in the last decade to create a front end user tool for curse and ward breaking." 

Yukio leaned forward in his seat. "That's amazing! So you are working on a literally universal programming code."

Fleur laughed lightly. "Non, my Prince. The code is my project, I am the head of the research team. The code is nothing so....ambitious. We are operating within strict parameters so that we do not....'break' reality. Just the same it is still very exciting work."

Yukio enthusiastically gestured. "From what I can tell with my limited exposure, magic is an energy source that can be channeled with almost no resistance. If you made a computer that used magic instead of electricity you would potentially have no upper limit to your processing capacity." 

Mephisto barked out a sharp laugh. "Your theory is sound but unfortunately, in practice inanimate objects that are enchanted in such a way, to constantly channel magic for whatever reason, become prime targets for demonic possession and often become unexpectedly sentient, case in point the rubber duck incident."

Both Amaimon and Harry shuddered violently.

Fleur nodded sagely. "Lord Faust ez correct, which is why we use the language to break and not to create."

Director Golg took the parchment from Goblin Bloodreign and slid the finished form across the table to Harry along with a narrow black box. "I'm afraid you will need to use a high security quill my Princess."

Harry looked over the form and opened the box pulling out a sleek augury feather quill.

She examined the tip of the feather. "I see it is already cut and shaped but where is the ink?"

Director Golg shook his head. "No ink my Princess, this quill draws directly on magic. It will feel very uncomfortable, a bit of a burning stinging sensation, but you will need to endure and stay focused for name change to be effective."

Harry nodded and drew in a slow breath. She grasped the quill in her fingers and began writing firmly in shimmering gold. Her skin flushed slightly but her attention didn't waver and when she finished she put the quill aside with relief.

"Congratulations on your success my Princess."

"That quill is pure evil." She said drily as she shook out her cramping writing hand.

Director Golg nodded. "Indeed, but it is a necessary and lawful evil. Returning to the betrothal contract for King Amaimon and Princess Shiemi Moriyama Peverell Delacour."

He slid the contract across the table to Shiemi. Harry quietly read the document out loud for Shiemi as it was written in English.

"The key point here is that being formally recognized as King Amaimon's future wife you are de facto a member of his house. Anyone who trespasses against you trespasses against him and he will decide their punishment. There is a clause here where you can appeal a decision, ultimately you would have to convince King Amaimon to change his mind as you won't have veto power."

Harry sighed and ran her finger down the page. "However, if at anytime you find that you are unhappy with the betrothal, or vice versa, you both have the right to dissolve the relationship independent of the other."

Shiemi nodded. "That sounds fair and is what I expected. Go ahead and sign for me Nee-san."

"As you wish Shiemi-chan." Harry signed as Shiemi's head of house and then she passed the contract to Amaimon who signed for himself.

Arthur signed as a witness and Director Golg notarized the original with glee.

"Congratulations your Highness' on making such a profitable match. May your investment today garner many returns in the future!" Director Golg bowed the minute his stamp was off the parchment.

Shiemi blushed and stammered out a thank you while Amaimon just nodded.

"Is there any other business?" Amaimon asked the room at large.

Harry coughed. "Ah yes. Prince Yukio Okumura expressed concern earlier about finding a sword capable of channeling his flames the way that Prince Rin Okumura is able to through Kurikara."

Harry leaned down and pulled the tapestry bundle out from along side her chair.

She scooted back and it carefully on the table before releasing her earlier incarcerus.

"We found these in the Gryffindor vault and Goblin Griphook felt that they had a good chance of holding up." Harry unrolled the tapestry to reveal the yatağan swords.

There were muted sounds of interest from around the room as Harry drew one of the swords and laid it next to the scabbard.

"The swords are twinned, and the inscription on the blade reads, "The fangs of the dragon dance swiftly in silence and all fall before their might", in a combination of Ottoman Turkish and a visual representation of parseltounge."

"Parseltounge! Really?" Director Golg exclaimed as the other goblins made various sounds of shock.

"And you say you found these in the Gryffindor vault?" Director Golg eyed the blade critically.

Harry nodded. "Before you say anything Griphook already dated them to the early 19th century, which would make it impossible for these to be the swords of Salazar Slytherin, except that there is a fair amount of evidence to suggest that he had a Peverell time turner."

Mephisto swore quietly. "Director Golg, you said that Auror Tonks gave you the information about the DMLE case yesterday but informed you that we would be arriving today."

Director Golg furrowed his already deep brow. "Yes my Lord we assumed that you had contacted them to initiate the request to reopen the investigation. Is that not so?"

Amaimon shook his head. "No, the decision to visit today was a spontaneous one. Who was involved on the DMLE side in reopening the case?"

Director Golg took the oversized folder from a legal aid and flipped through the first few pages. "It says here the original Harry Potter missing person's case was filed by Florean Fortescue and reopened yesterday based on a sighting of Harry Potter......sighted by Florean Fortescue. Evidence retrieval approved by Director, Auror Amelia Bones, assigned to Auror Nymphadora Tonks."

Harry leaned back thoughtfully. "Mr. Fortescue was outside straightening up his shop when we passed by earlier. He knows me well and I am certain he would have recognized me. He must have apparated directly to the Ministry and gone straight to Bones. She pulled Tonks in on it because she's family and not part of the conspiracy, meaning that Tonks would have physically used the time turner...."

"But it most likely in the custody of Amelia Bones which I will rectify shortly." Mephisto ground out dangerously.

Arthur looked alarmed. "Lord Faust, I understand your concern but it would be ill advised to storm the ministry over a time turner."

Mephisto leveled a flat angry glare at Arthur. Seeing a fight brewing Harry quickly interjected. "Angelus, you don't understand. We can't ignore this, we must retrieve that time turner and destroy it. It has no restrictions and is a literal bomb at the verge of exploding perpetually. I'm with Lord Faust on this one, it is to dangerous to leave it unaccounted for."

Amaimon sighed. "This is turning into a very long day. I propose that we utilize a training room briefly to asses the swords and then move on to the ministry to retrieve the time turner. If we are lucky we may make it to bed before sunrise."

Mephisto nodded "Agreed. Let us proceed with some urgency please."

Arthur smiled apologetically. "Yes Lord Faust, now that I am better informed I agree with the need to make haste."

Rin stood and stretched, sitting that long had made him feel a bit sleepy. He walked over the where Harry and Yukio were handling the swords as everyone else gathered their things.

Rin got a good look at the silver and gem stone cobras on the hilts as Yukio held the swords up to the light."Those are pretty cool looking Yuki-chan."

Yukio laughed deprecatingly. "They are a little flashy for my taste but what matters is that they work."

Harry smiled fondly as she folded up the tapestry. "They aren't nearly as gaudy as some of the other swords in the vault. Trust me, those are sedate by comparison."

Harry tossed the folded tapestry up in the air and hit it with a small blue fireball.

Fleur clapped and laughed delightedly while everyone else stared in horror.

"Don't worry, it just went back to the vault......I think." Harry looked apologetic for a moment before shrugging. "As long as my flames don't cancel out the enchantment it should be fine."

Amaimon shook his head in fond exasperation and led the procession from the room.

Several identical hallways later they walked through a low archway and into a large sand covered arena.

There were some goblins off to one side running ax drills but other wise the space was unoccupied.

"This should be sufficient." Amaimon said as he stepped off to the side. "Angharad-chan would you like to lead Rin-chan and Yukio-chan briefly through channeling through a focus?"

Harry stretched and cracked her knuckles. "All right, Rin and Yukio up here with me, everyone else, hang back."

As everyone shuffled to their respective places Harry found herself feeling grateful that most of the goblin contingent has left to go about their various duties. Only Director Golg and a handfull of aids remained behind to watch and assist.

Harry manifested the sword of Gryffindor into her hand. "All right. The important thing here is to feel for a connection and once you sense that "otherness" allow yourself to be drawn in."

She took a deep breath and visibly relaxed. In the space of a heartbeat the sword of Gryffindor burst into vivid blue flames. "I'm not pushing or shaping, I'm simply allowing the sword to draw on my flames."

"To stop, visualize your self squeezing your end of the connection until you are separate from the blade again." Gryffindor's sword flicked once and then went out.

Harry willed the sword away. "All right, Rin, Yukio, you guys try now."

Rin brandished Kurikara with quite a lot of misplaced confidence, while Yukio carefully unsheathed the yatağan one at a time placing the scabbards on the floor.

It only took Rin seconds for Kurikara to go up in a blaze of azure flames. Yukio on the other hand seemed to be struggling to let go.

Harry walked around behind Yukio and whispered in his ear. Yukio spluttered and blushed a bright red, at that moment both of his swords burst into a conflagration of blue.

Harry stepped back and studied them both. Rin's flames danced along the length of his blade while Yukio's were more focused towards the tips.

They sustained the flames for several minutes and so far it looked like the yatağan were holding up as well as Kurikara.

Harry was satisfied with the display. "Excellent, now quench the blades."

The blue flames winked out and Director Golg stepped forward to inspect the swords.

Director Golg carefully ran a practiced eye over the yatagăn. "I cannot detect any damage to the swords. Their upper limits will have to be carefully assessed to prevent sudden catastrophic failure but I believe they will be safe for Prince Okumura-Egin to wield."

"Thank you Director Golg." Yukio said with a bow. "How should I wear them?" 

Mephisto stepped forward. "Normally they would be worn in a sash similar to how Rin-chan is wearing Kurikara, however as that is not exactly practical for you Yukio-chan, I believe a small modification to your usual uniform will suffice."

EINS, ZWIE, DRIE! snap POOF!~☆

Startled Yukio jumped slightly to find himself in his full exorcist uniform. 

"Anuie!!" he gasped. "Warn me next time!"

Rin laughed openly while Mephisto smirked and pretended he didn't hear Yukio's request.

Stepping forward Amaimon helped Yukio secure the swords, one on either side of his body, between the wide strap of his gunbelt and the fabric of his jacket.

Rin let out a low whistle. "Yukio-chan, you look like a total bad ass."

"Agreed." Arthur spoke up from where he had been conversing with Fleur. "For now stick to your firearms if there is real trouble, but if you need to intimidate someone in the wizarding world feel free to draw your sword and set it alight. This is such an insular society very few will make the association with your paternal progenitor and those that do won't out themselves." 

Rin crossed his arms thoughtfully. "Sensei, earlier I mentioned the need to have a solid strategy in place before appearing before the Grigori."

Arthur nodded and Rin continued. "I wasn't very clear but the message I need to send is one of competent control and unity. I know I have the reputation of being hot headed but that is mostly from before unsheathing Kurikara. I'm not saying I won't get angry or occasionally say something unwise but I refuse to lower myself to their expectations. At the same time I am hoping to convince the Grigori that we are on the same side."

Arthur found himself nodding along with Rin's words. "How do you plan to do that without wearing your True Cross uniforms?"

Rin turned to Mephisto. "Is there an older version of the Exorcist's uniform that we would be authorized to wear as Exwires, something that predates the establishment of True Cross Academy?"

Mephisto smiled slowly. "Indeed there is a precedent that was implemented by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, however it is not a uniform per se. When he created the Landsknecht as an alternative to having to hire Swiss reisläufer, he relaxed the sumptuary laws for his mercenaries allowing them to dress however they pleased."

"His reasoning for this change was because their lives were “so short and brutish”. This resulted in some truly spectacular fashion meant to shock and amaze."

"You could almost say they were punks before such a thing as punk rock existed. I for one am a huge fan of the Landsknecht in both concept and deed. Their unprincipled, ruthless violence was so effectively terrifying that it was said the devil refused to let Landsknechts into hell because he was so afraid of them."

"As it has been centuries since I have toured all the levels of Gehenna I cannot substantiate that claim, but having seen first hand how they completely dominated their opponents going so far as to sack Rome itself, I am proud to ape their asthetic to a certain extent."

Rin gave Mephiso an unimpressed look. "I am not dressing like you, you dress like a clown."

"Fufufu! Your preference is noted and in this case irrelevant as you lack a certain perspective on the matter. However I concede that a codpiece is rather impractical in modern dress and while I have the legs for pluderhosen you, my vertically challenged Ototou, do not."

Mephisto trailed off into silence, stroking his pointed gotee between his lavender clad index finger and thumb while Rin shifted anxiously under his scrutiny.

"Rin-chan, pass Harry-chan Kurikara for a moment please."

Rin frowned and handed the sword to Harry who stepped back.

"EINS, ZWEI, DRIE!" snap POOF~☆

Rin looked down and patted his chest. "What the hell am I wearing?"

Another snap and a full length mirror appeared from a glittery mauve cloud.

Rin was surprised by his reflection; the uniform blurred the line between the ubiquitously business like look that Yukio typically wore and something out of European military history.

Harry laughed. "That's so Napoleonic conquest! Is that really what the order wore before the invention of trench coats?"

Arthur smiled indulgently at Harry. "There wasn't much of a uniform presence in the order until the last 80 years or so. Prior to that the agrafe, or the exorcist's cloak pin as it's more commonly known as, was the one concession to uniformity."

Yukio was taking a hands on approach, incidentally feeling Rin up as he examined the black mid length cape and fitted double breasted jacket intently. "It's still like that today, I never saw Tou-san wear anything but his cassock in the field. This is actually quite nice, even though the lining of the cape is red it's so dark you can hardly tell, and the silver piping is subtle enough to where it doesn't look gaudy."

Rin blushed lightly as Yukio dropped into a squat in front of him as ran his hands down Rin's black high waisted trousers. Yukio stopped and stood when his hands met the seam where the trousers disappeared into tall polished black boots.

"What the hell material is this made from Anuie, it feels familiar?"

"Spider silk my dear Yukio-chan. If you dress to impress only the finest materials will suit!"

Coughing slightly to shove down his embarrassment, Rin reclaimed his sword from Harry. He positioned the sheath between his body and the wide leather uniform belt. He drew his sword, satisfied that the cape didn't get fouled up, he just as smoothly he resheathed his blade.

Yukio nodded, impressed with his Nii-san's display. "Alright Anuie, can you give me the same treatment?"

"With pleasure." Mephisto snapped and Yukio stumbled suddenly.

"Uh! Even when I was expecting it I was still suprised!" Yukio exclaimed in annoyance as he turned a quick circle in front of the mirror before he drew his sidearms. Reassured that the clothing wasn't getting in the way he holstered his sidearms and unsheathed his swords. They erupted into brilliant blue flames for a few seconds before Yukio nodded, satisfied with the functionality of the uniform he quenched the blades and re sheathed them.

Rin examined the back of Yukio's cape. "Cool, it looks like the heraldry of the order is embroidered on the back here."

"It's the same on your cloak too Nii-san. Anuie, should we also have something that shows our affiliation with Harry-chan?" Yukio asked as he was slightly distracted by Rin patting him down cheekily as revenge for his earlier manhandling.

Harry shrugged. "They could wear the symbol of the hallows. That should send a fairly strong message."

Mephisto smiled sharply at her suggestion and made a lazy gesture.

The front of both Yukio and Rin's jackets suddenly sprouted Harry's sigil embroidered in the same subdued silver as the piping but with the addition of stylized twinned azure flames flanking either side.

"Oh that's brilliant!" Harry said with genuine enthusiasm. "Is there any way I can get that variant registered to Peverell Delacour before some idiot copies it and pisses me off?"

Director Golg gleefully clapped his gnarled hands. 

"Consider it done my Princess!"

He had been observing the proceedings with no little amusement from the sidelines and was eager to conclude their business for the day.

"My Princess, in regards to our earlier discussion about suing for defamation of character, would you be interested in a goblin tailored wardrobe as compensation for your cooperation with the case?"

Harry gave Director Golg a serious look. "Conditionally; everything must be combat ready, that means no corsets or skirts. I prefer the protection of hide whenever possible, so you have my permission to use the basilisk hide and dragon hide from my vaults in the construction of the garments. Throw the new device on everything and make it all look good, then you have a deal."

Director Golg bowed. "I will see to it my Princess."

Harry returned the bow. "Excellent, it has been a pleasure doing business with you today."

Amaimon stepped forward with a blank expression that barely disguised his impatience. "Speaking of business, we need to make our way to the ministry before the close of day."

Mephisto manifested his oversized pocket watch and nodded in a agreement. "If we leave now our timing should be perfect."

Director Golg and the rest of the goblins, including the few ax wielders who had stopped their sparring once it became apparent that something more interesting was going on, bowed lowly.

"Thank your for your custom today your Highness. May the rest of your day be similarly profitable."

Amaimon nodded fractionally. "Likewise. Keep an eye out for Auror Tonks, I may send her your way if we gain any additional information."

"Of course your Highness." Director Golg assured with a low bow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The heraldry of The Order Of the True Cross:
> 
> The Agrafe IE the big ass brooch:
> 
> Equal armed cross= sun, balance, positive spirit
> 
> An adargue escutcheon, quarterly per saltire gules and azure,  boss a cross argent = balance of passion and reason over the heart, equal above and below with the purity of the cross overall as a guiding principle.
> 
> Purple garter= oooh fancy pants, seriously is probably meant to signify the pope as representative of 'king of kings'.
> 
> Bellum = war
> 
> Vita= life
> 
> Mori= death
> 
> Fatum= as it is said/ fate
> 
> The the motto would be something like "if war is my life then death is my fate" or "in making war with life accept death as your fate", or some variation of that theme.
> 
> Seiman= germination/ genesis/ creation
> 
> U.T.H.S. = Under The Holy See
> 
> :::sweat drop::: And now for the tough stuff.
> 
> Disclaimer: I could be waaaaaaay off. I could be overcomplicating something simple in the extreme. So if you think I'm dead wrong, a little wrong, kinda right, or totally on top of it feel free to let me know.
> 
> The Kanji used in the coat of arms for The Order Of The True Cross; I wracked my brain on this one, it's a point/dot over a horizontal line with a swooping, zig zig left leaning vertical shape that could be interpreted as a energetic line because it doesn't enclose a shape or intersect any other strokes (which I could be reading wrong because it partially covered and highly stylized).
> 
> I'm fairly sure this is a created Kanji. My reason for thinking that is I have scoured every kanji reference book I could get my hands on, as well as a few reputable online resources and have not been able to find any thing exactly like it. I even took the historical route just in case it was a style that was no longer in use, no luck!
> 
> What I can say is the point/ dot tends to show up in kanji having to do with the divine, for example god or eternity and in is associated with a burning flame, like in the kanji for lamp.
> 
> The horizontal bar by itself is used to signify one or alone, when combined with a vertical line it means very basically "below"
> 
> The Kanji used in the True Cross coat of arms is very reminiscent of a portion of the Kanji for soul/spirit and is also similar to the shape of the symbol representing an act or a thing a person does.
> 
> So my humble interpretation of the True Cross Order kanji is that it is meant to represent "the action of the individual spirit overcoming the energy of below", or put another way specifically in Ao No Exorcist context the kanji symbolizes the will power of the individual resisting the influence of demons.
> 
> Good grief.....I am a knowledge junkie......Mephisto would have a field day with me!
> 
> Translation notes:
> 
> Angharad Lilith Peverell Delacour ='much loved night creature, piper of the court' (liberties taken with the translation)


	29. A Nasty Wee Beastie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mephisto is anxious to recover the rouge Peverell time turner from Amelia Bones.
> 
> Once in the Ministry of Magic things get a bit complicated. 
> 
> Yukio saves the day with assistance from Shiemi and Nii-chan.
> 
> A heartwarming family reunion is rounded out with the retelling of the prank to end all pranks!

Mephisto had already begun looking for a door with a key hole when Fleur stepped forward. 

"Lord Faust, by your leave, I would feel better if Arthur and I were at the head of our little group. We have a good relationship with a number of department heads and my father in law works there, no one will stop us."

Mephisto waived his left hand distractedly. "Yes, yes. Rin-chan, Yukio-chan, you follow Arthur-kun and Fleur-san, followed by Shiemi-chan and Harry-chan. Amaimon-chan and I will bring up the rear."

Finally finding a tall cabinet with a proper lock he inserted his key and opened the door. Fleur and Arthur walked through first, ram rod straight sporting haughty sneers that wouldn't have looked out of place on a Malfoy. Rin and Yukio followed behind; their uniformity of appearance, serious expressions and obvious weapons making them look twin harbingers of doom. Harry nervously held her breath as Shiemi gently towed her along with Mephisto and Amaimon hot on their heels.

Harry was careful to project confidence but underneath her calm facade she was coiled tightly and ready to act. She silently reveled in the fact that Mephisto and Amaimon were a solid presence behind her. Picking up in Harry's increasing anxiety, Rin and Yukio opened ranks slightly allowing Shiemi and Harry to walk more between them than behind them.

As they proceeded down the main hallway towards the DMLE offices Harry reflected on how grateful she was that Mephisto decided to skip the atrium and the lifts. She didn't think she could handle crossing such a large space without adequate cover and the thought of being trapped in a magical lift was nauseating. Funnily she didn't have any issues with the lift at Gringotts; even with Griphooks blatant animosity she felt safe in Amaimon's territory. But here at the Ministry she felt jumpy and overwhelmed.

The closer they got to where the hallway branched off towards the DMLE offices the more they noticed the signs of a recent magical battle. Harry felt her heart thump wildly, the opening to the law enforcement wing fairly shimmered with intent based wards.

Arthur raised one hand in a clenched fist to signal for everyone to stop. He signaled back to Mephisto who nodded his understanding before quietly explaining that the Paladin and his oldest sister were going to scout ahead.

Arthur and Fleur smoothly broke away from the main group and crept along the wall keeping their profiles as narrow as possible.

Halfway down the hallway a figure could be seen peeking carefully around a doorframe.

"Amelia! It's the Delacour siblings!" The figure cautiously rolled his wand out into the hall and slowly exposed himself empty hands first.

"Mr. Fortescue I presume?" Arthur asked genially as he summoned the surrendered wand.

"Yes that's me! Please excuse the mess, we had a jolly time apprehending the suspects in the Harry Potter case." Florean chuckled nervously. "They weren't exactly cooperative."

"Florean, are you ok?" A slightly gruff woman's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Yes Amelia dear. Can you have Auror Tonks help you out into the hall?"

"Yes, give us a moment." Tonks called out shakily.

As Amelia and Tonks came into view Fleur did a quick sweep of the reception room and attached hallway before signaling Arthur with the all clear. Arthur passed the all clear down to Mephisto who was waiting with the rest of the group just outside the wards

Both Amelia and Tonks were pale and drawn but Amelia was barely on her feet.

Fleur helped Tonks into a comfortable position, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall after verifying she was simply exhausted. Amelia waved off Fleur's attempt to help her sit and remained mostly upright.

"Madam Bones are you injured?" Arthur asked with genuine concern as he gave Florean his wand back.

Amelia huffed as she propped herself against the wall. "Some nasty wee beastie managed to claw me up but good. I've cast the usual disinfectant charms but it's still quite painful."

Arthur frowned. "Can my associate take a look at your wound?"

Amelia grimaced uncomfortably. "If you vouch for them then yes, I would appreciate the help."

"Yukio-chan, the older woman is the DMLE Director Amelia Bones. I have reason to suspect she has a demonic injury, will you treat her?"

Yukio increased his stride and walked swiftly to where Amelia was barely remaining vertical. "Will you translate for me Sensei? I need you to introduce me and then I need her to lay down facing the wall. From the way she is holding herself I suspect she has been wounded across the back of her ribs and I will need the robe out of the way to see what I am working with."

Arthur nodded his agreement before turning back to Amelia.

"Madame Bones, this is Yukio Okumura, a rather talented healer that I am fortunately well acquainted with. We are going to help you lay down and then we are going to remove a section of your robe so he can see your wound." As Arthur was talking he began laying down disinfectant and cushioning charms.

Amelia shook her head slightly. "It's no use, these robes are heavily enchanted and I can't get my arms high enough to pull them off properly. They aren't able to be cut off as they are spelled to turn blades away, as well as being flame resistant up to fiendfire level flames and anti lift. I'm fairly sure whoever got me conjured that critter right into my under clothes."

Arthur frowned. "Yukio-chan, you are going to need to use your flames on the outer robe to get through to the wound. Her robe can only be cut by something that can overcome the magic of the protections."

Yukio nodded that he understood as he removed his cape and folded it to support Amelia's head. He helped guide her down onto the prepared floor and was pleased to find she hovered a few feet off the ground thanks to Arthur's cushioning charms, making it easier for her to be reached.

"Sensei, tell Bones-san to stay calm and not to move, I am going to cut her robe now. Hold her arm as far away from her body as she is able to tolerate." Yukio was already in doctor mode, issuing orders calmly while Arthur repeated his words as necessary in English.

Yukio focused on making a narrow pin prick of flame extend just past his fingertip and carefully drew a line starting at her wrist along the inseam of her sleeve, along her armpit and down her torso. He stopped at the line of her hips and moved back up to make another cut diagonally from her shoulder blade in the back to her hip in the front. He then made another from the front of her shoulder to the back of her hip.

He carefully peeled back the fabric to reveal three jagged slashes that oozed thick reeking pus and were worryingly inflamed. He carefully eased Amelia's arm out of the remants of her sleeve and positioned her forearm along side her face to give him a clear area to work in.

"Shiemi-chan." Yukio called out over his shoulder. "I need you to summon Nii-chan. I have the anti-tox and holy water for this but it will need to be bound with fresh aloe to prevent reinfection and secondary necrosis. Whatever did this was one of Asteroth's lesser kin."

Rin who had approached with Shiemi snorted. "I hate that asshole and all his cronies. They really are the worst."

Shiemi stopped herself just before she summoned Nii-chan. "Nii-san, is my familiar going to upset anyone here?"

Arthur shook his head. "No, he is a benevolent spirit, he won't set off any of the containment wards that are currently in place."

Shiemi nodded and focused carefully on her cupped hands. With a small flash of green Nii-chan cheerfully manifested in all his leafy glory.

"NII!"

Shiemi smiled. "I am happy to see you also, but we have a lady who is hurt and needs some Mr. Sancho to get better."

"NII!"

Yukio briefly looked up from where he was carefully flushing out the wound with holy water, being meticulous to avoid getting any on his skin, and very nearly splashed himself when he startled. Nii-chan had suddenly produced an aloe plant that was so massive the individual outer leaves were nearly the thickness and length of a human arm.

Yukio quickly snapped his attention back to what he was doing but not before he noticed Amaimon approach Shiemi with a slightly impressed look.

Yukio switched from flushing the wound to filling small syringes with the anti-tox, thanking Mephisto's attention to detail in the silence of his mind. When his uniform had been conjured onto his body earlier in the evening it was his actual uniform and not a cheap facsimile. He was relieved to find that everything in his kit was still the same as he expected despite the impromptu costume change.

Yukio began injecting the anti-tox carefully into the pockets of flesh that had already begun to putrefy. The trick was to do it without disturbing the pockets enough to spread the viscous goo into the surrounding healthy tissue. Once the anti-tox had the opportunity to work those pockets would become benign blisters that would be slowly reabsorbed. But until then they were a major concern and the possibly of blood poisoning or sepsis remained high.

As Yukio methodically worked his way along each of the gashes with tiny syringes Shiemi struggled slightly with the massive aloe plant. Amaimon quietly stepped in and lifted it carefully for her so she could separate it from Nii-chan who immediately climbed into her hair with a happy cry of "NII!".

"I did not expect such a large plant." Shiemi said frowning.

Amaimon flashed her a subtle but genuine smile. "Your familiar may be very young but he channels your will powerfully and he is growing quickly."

Shiemi blushed at the compliment and was suddenly overwhelmed as an ecstatic Nii-chan buried her and Amaimon in a cascade of flowers with a high pitched "NII!".

"Hey Harry-chan, can you conjure a filet knife for me and a cutting board?" Rin asked seeing that Yukio was intensely focused and Shiemi and Amaimon were busy trying to calm the excited little greenman before he got it in his head to demonstrate his skill with anything larger.

Harry detached herself from where she had been leaning against the wall, just outside of the wards talking through her anxiety at being in the Ministry with Mephisto.

She deftly conjured a thin silver blade and a comfortably tall modular chopping block for Rin to render some of the larger outer Aloe leaves into long sheets. Under Mephisto's approving gaze she also conjured a large pot full of earth and a watering can so Shiemi and Amaimon could plant the rest of the monstrous aloe once they were done soothing Nii-chan.

Rin smiled at the antics of his family and quickly got to work peeling and slicing.

Harry hesitated slightly before she came close enough to be seen by the other wizards. Tonks gave her a tired but relieved smile and a nod while Florean broke into fresh tears. "Miss Potter, I can't properly express just how happy I am to see that you are alive."

Harry's expression softened. "Thank you Mr. Fortescue. So, what's new on the menu?"

Florean laughed. "At the moment nothing that I would suggest getting near your mouth!"

At Harry's confused look Tonks clarified. "We have most of the department, suspected death eaters and sympathizers, literally on ice. Everyone else are locked in their offices until we can secure the suspects off site. Trouble is we don't have anywhere to stick the rotten buggers!"

Harry exchanged glances with Mephisto who laughed and spun a key around his finger. "I believe I can help with that if you can show me where you have detained the suspects."

Harry snorted. "You get to play jailer twice in one day, how fun!"

Florean looked confused but trusted Harry enough to simply go along. "Amelia, Lord Faust, Miss Potter and I are going to move the prisoners, will you be alright without me for a few minutes?"

Amelia didn't move but her voice sounded clearer and less strained than before. "Go ahead, the Delacours are here and they can cover any contingencies. I am already feeling much better, whatever this young man is doing he could give Saint Mungo's a run for their money."

Florean let out a relieved breath. "Alright then, we will be right back."

"What's the plan?" Harry asked quietly as she and Mephisto trailed after Florean, passing through the outer reception room and into a narrow hallway.

"My dear, we are going to make a deposit." Mephisto replied with a sinister laugh.

"Shouldn't we tell Amaimon?" Harry asked with concern

Mephisto laid an elegant finger alongside his cheek and gave her a look of exaggerated outrage. "Plausible deniability! Have I taught you nothing?!"

Harry laughed openly at his ridiculous antics.

Florean smiled at her good humor and opened a heavy door. "This is it, they are all stacked on the far side of the evidence room."

Sure enough, piled against the wall in a tableaux that looked like it was conjured from a Hieronymus Bosch painting, was a veritable mountain of human beings frozen into grotesque shapes.

Harry's jaw dropped and even Mephisto was a little caught out by the macabre display.

Mephisto gave the unassuming wizard a sideways glance. "And this is completely reversible with no ill effect?"

Florean beamed proudly. "Oh I made sure to start with preservation spells once I had them knocked out. Kind of the inverse of what I usually do to be honest, normally you want to keep the oxygen out but in this case I didn't want the bastards to asphyxiate." Florean's smile took on a slightly sinister look. "That's too easy an end for the likes of them. Nah, they will be a mite uncomfortable coming out of it and if they get bumped hard enough for something to break off then well....." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Mephisto looked amused. "Your friends are delightful Harry my dear. You levitate the suspects while I prepare a space for them to occupy."

Harry laughed. "Righto!"

It was a matter of minutes to pass the prisoners through the door of the evidence room and directly into the plain stone walled room that Mephisto provided.

Florean relaxed visibly as the door shut with a clang and Mephisto removed the key from the lock.

A cheerful Florean was a chatty Florean and he decided to fill them in as they headed back down the hallway. "Amelia has had the department on lockdown since Auror Tonks returned from Gringotts. The plan is to frame this as an ambush and quietly move forward with the investigation."

Harry nodded. "I hate to say it but it is a good thing that she was injured by a dark conjuration. It will be very hard for them to claim that was self defense."

Mephisto hummed absently in agreement before freezing suddenly with an odd look on his face. He snarled and turned, kicking a rather plain door open like it had personally offended him for existing.

"Ah, here it is!" he said with gleeful malice as he stalked purposefully around the large desk in the middle of the cluttered office. He pried the desk drawer open with a snap of his fingers and tucked the lockbox he retrieved from it under his arm.

Florean spluttered and was about to protest when he felt Harry's hand on his shoulder. "Please don't. We have to destroy it; that time turner is unbelievably dangerous and Lord Faust is quite possibly the only being in this universe who can actually handle the damn thing safely."

Mephisto snorted as he strode ahead of them casually. "Even I must be cautious handling this nightmarish contraption. Nothing quite like a literal crack in space time to shake up the tedium of an otherwise normal day."

Harry shook her head as Florean shuddered. "I'm going to take your word for it on that one." She said sagely.

They passed back through the reception room and back into the hallway to find Auror Tonks snoring loudly with her head in Fleur's lap. 

Yukio was busy following behind Arthur's spelled in sutures, manually securing the strips of aloe Rin was handing him along the length of Amelia's wounds. 

Amaimon and Shiemi were sitting next to the massive aloe plant, now secured in it's conjured pot, amusing themselves by making elaborate floral crowns.

"Are the suspects secured?" Amelia asked as Harry, Mephisto and Flourean emerged from the reception room.

"Just let me know when you need them ready to testify so I can grant you temporary access to my assets at Gringotts." Mephisto said silkily.

Arthur laughed as he completed his last pass. "Serves them right, I hope they are enjoying their stay."

Harry snorted. "Not likely in the first place but even better as they are all literally frozen solid!"

Arthur laughed a little harder as he helped Yukio finish binding up Amelia's wound.

"Are you telling me that you secured the suspects in a Gringotts vault?" Amelia asked as her voice rose in pitch to reflect her shock. "That's illegal! Are you trying to pitch this whole case in the tip!"

Amaimon frowned from where he was weaving honeysuckle into Shiemi's already elaborate floral headpiece. 

"There is precedent and while it is illegal for a government agency to utilize a Gringott's vault in such a way the law has not been violated in this instance."

"We do not monitor the personal deposits of individual citizens unless they are under investigation for a crime and an audit is requested. Even then we only record the contents as an unbiased third party, the vault owner must give authorization for the contents of the vault to be altered in any way."

Yukio finished tying off the gauze holding the aloe to Amelia's wound and recovered his cape.

"Which is a right pain in the ass let me tell you! We could have nailed some of these death eater bastards years ago if I could have gotten a hold of the material evidence that they have squirreled away in their vaults." Amelia carefully rolled over onto her elbow and propped herself up to face the person who spoke last. "You goblins and your obsession with the sanctity of business...."

Amelia trailed off in shock as she recognized just who she was talking to. Amaimon's heavy golden eyes and blank face were frankly terrifying to behold. But as he graciously held out his hand to help her to her feet, she chose to focus on that and ignore everything else that caused her brain to scream "danger!" at his presence.

Amelia started to relax but then she stiffened, closing her mouth with a click at the sight of his wickedly sharp claw like nails. Amaimon waved his hand impatiently in her face before Amelia quickly shoved down her panic and regained her composure, cautiously putting her hand in his. Yukio, with his cape restored, gripped her under her opposite arm and between the two of them they carefully got Amelia back on her feet.

"My apologies your majesty." She choked out as the change in position put pressure on her wounds.

Amaimon nodded graciously. "I understand your frustration but my loyalty is to my subjects first and wizard kind doesn't generally merit my attention. However, Angharad Lilith Peverell Delacour, formally Angharad Lilith Potter-Black, is my family and Goblin kin, and you will find that Gringotts can be quite cooperative when it suits us."

Amaimon approximated a smile in a predatory way that showed entirely too many of his unnaturally sharp teeth. "I trust that there will no misunderstandings about the the scope of the current investigation. We are keen to see justice, but I will not tolerate the abuse of the very small amount of trust I am extending to you personally Director Bones. The minute one of my subjects reports that they are being harassed or pressured by your Aurors I will pull our support and we will handle the suspects in a manner that Lord Faust deems satisfactory, as they are detained in his vault."

Amelia turned following Amaimon's gaze and observed the being that had to be Lord Faust. He was a strikingly tall, thin man, dressed in an immaculately white double breasted suit with a matching cape. He accessorized with lavender gloves, a pink and white polka dot ascot and a fancifully twee umbrella whose handle resembled several scoops of colorful ice cream. 

In short his appearance was beyond eccentric, but what really got her attention was not his violently purple hair, goatee, pointed ears and piercing green eyes, it was the plain unassuming lock box he had tucked under his arm. Shit!

Everyone knew the Goblin King wasn't human or a goblin for that matter, but no one knew exactly what he was either. Amelia was almost certain that whatever the Goblin King actually was Lord Faust was cut from the same cloth and her normal methods of negotiation would be absolutely useless.

Amelia sighed, this was one battle she knew she was not going to win. "I understand your majesty, I will continue to have Auror Tonks liaise with her contact at the bank if that acceptable?"

Amaimon nodded. "Yes, so far she has been surprisingly competent."

"Agreed." Lord Faust said sincerely. 

"So changing the subject, you'll be taking that then?" Amelia asked Lord Faust while she watched his expressions closely.

"Yes, if you don't mind?" Lord Faust drawled genially flashing her a wicked smirk, the bastard. He already knew he bloody had her over a barrel.

Amelia affected a nonchalant tone. "Oh no, by all means, have at. It's frankly been a burden all these years, truthfully I have only kept it on hand so it wouldn't hurt anyone. I am happy to think that it has finally created some good, you won't undo that good or hurt anyone with it will you?"

Amelia observed him laughing in genuine amusement before he replied. "No my dear, I am equally invested in the positive outcome of your investigation. As far as this little toy is concerned I have been tracking it and the others like it down almost from the moment they were created. They are quite problematic you see, generally speaking they are self correcting when used. They and the user simply cease to exist."

Amelia looked uneasily at Tonks who was being roused gently by Arthur and Fleur before turning her attention back to Lord Faust who seemed to find her reaction amusing. "Don't worry, I will take great satisfaction in decommissioning this one before it can become any more dangerous than it already is."

Amelia took a deep and somewhat uncomfortable breath before deciding that she had likely gleaned as much information from him as was safe to pry. "You have my thanks then Lord Faust. I'm guessing that you all originally came to discuss the investigation?"

"Ah, actually we came so Lord Faust could retrieve the trinket." Arthur said apologetically. "But to bring you up to current, the goblins have been instructed to maintain control of the evidence that Auror Tonks provided and to expect her as the point of contact with your office. Myself or Lord Faust are acceptable contacts for Harry and we have Lord Nicholas Flamel heading the ICW side of the investigation."

"Lord Flamel is in on this too!" Amelia said in shock before a wide smile split her face. "Thank Merlin! Father Christmas has come early!" 

Tonks snorted and wobbled to her feet. "Good, he's about the only one with the leverage to really make charges stick to Dumbledore. You would think he dabbed his robes with Poo-gone on a regular basis, somehow when shit hits the fan it manages to nail everyone else but he walks away smelling like roses."

Harry laughed. "Did the twins come up with that one?"

"Oh yeah, they have a whole line of shit related pranks, You-no-poo especially was a great marketing campaign. They used a picture of You-know-who struggling in the lav; I don't know how they did it but it was brill." Tonks smiled sadly. "I even saved one for you cousin."

Harry hesitated for a moment before she stepped forward and hugged Tonks firmly. "It wasn't your fault. They wouldn't let Andy have me because of Ted, I know you tried."

Tonks hugged Harry back, her grey hair flashed into a light bubblegum pink as she let slip a few happy tears. "I'm just glad you made it back kiddo. Mumsy and Da are going to want you to come round for tea so expect an owl soon."

Harry stepped back and gave Tonks a serious look. "Make sure that it's an internationally rated bird, I'm living in Japan now."

"Japan! How the blazes did you end up in Japan!?" 

Harry had to supress a laugh as Tonk's hair cycled rapidly through the visible spectrum of color before settling on something that could be described as traffic cone orange.

"The death veil didn't kill me, instead I have been stuck in a sort of pocket dimension." Harry waived Yukio over. "This is Yukio Okumura Egin, one of the new Lords Greengrass, he's the one who pulled me out of limbo."

Yukio tried to bow properly when Harry introduced him but was completely stymied by Tonks' enthusiastic hug. "You wonderful, wonderful man! We tried everything we could think of and the closest we got was being able to confirm she was still alive." Tonks kissed his cheeks before releasing him. "Thank you for bringing her back."  

Yukio swayed slightly as she let him go, his skin a flaming pink. Rin cackled madly at Yukio's embarrassment.

"Yukio, breathe before you pass out!" Rin said still laughing.

Tonks looked at Rin and then at Yukio. "Oh! I'm sorry you guys don't speak English do you?"

Harry interjected. "No, but they understand you just fine. You just startled Yukio, I'm crap at Japanese culture but I'm pretty sure it's uncommon to get hugged and kissed by someone you are meeting for the first time."

Tonks laughed. "I'm sorry but you are family now whether you like it or not Mumsy is going to give you the same treatment when she meets you so consider that practice."

Yukio nodded and stepped back with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Harry smiled and gestured to Rin who was still laughing lightly. "This is Rin Okumura Egin, the other Lord Greengrass and Yukio's twin brother who has made doubly sure I can't be chucked back into limbo or banished anywhere."

Rin preemptively held out his right hand to shake with a smile and was unprepared when Tonks used it to haul him in for a spine cracking hug and a kiss on each cheek.

Shiemi laughed sweetly at Rin who was busy trying to compose himself while Yukio heckled him mercilessly.

"Shiemi-chan I would like you to meet my cousin Nymphadora Tonks, her mother is Andromeda Tonks nee Black." Harry said seriously.

Shiemi bowed gracefully.

Harry continued in the same serious mien. "Cousin this is my sister by blood and rite Shiemi Moriyama Peverell Delacour, heir apparent of houses Potter, Black, Peverell, Slytherin and Gryffindor, fiancee to Amaimon, King of the Goblin Nation."  

Tonks bowed deeply. "I am honored by your presence cousin and am happy to welcome you to the family." Tonks straightened up with a cheeky grin. "Would you like a hug too?" 

Harry translated helpfully; Shiemi blushed and nodded with a smile. Tonks picked her up into a bear hug and spun her around once for good measure before putting her on her feet and kissing her cheeks. 

Shiemi gasped and then giggled at Tonks who had stepped back wearing Shiemi's exact hair color and style with her eyes the exact same color as Shiemi's. 

"What?" Tonks said innocently. "Is there something on my face?" 

Harry chuckled at her antics. "Next time when you aren't so tired you will have to do your animal faces."

"Are you are a full metamorphmagus?" Mephisto asked curiously.

Tonk's laughed. "Yes sir, I always score 100% in my undercover assessments and have become pretty dab hand at increasing and decreasing mass as well."

"Magnificent!" Mephisto exclaimed excitedly. "I suspect that your cousin Harry has some latent ability that could be potentially trained but it is always a thrill to meet another shape shifter, especially one with a decent sense of humor."

Tonks smiled a bit thinly. "The pranking gene runs strong in the Black family, right up there with the insanity and proclivity towards black magic." Tonks snorted. "My cousin Sirius used to be pranking buddies with Harry's dad James, they and two other friends made up a group called the Maurauders who were the bane of the teachers of Hogwarts. They worshipped Loki and lived for chaos."

"Oh?" Mephisto said with sly smile.

"Oh yeah, my Mumsy liked to tell those stories like cautionary tales but I thought they were fantastic. Hugely inspirational! Pranking was a good motivation for me to get my shapeshifting down." Tonks laughed. "I wasn't the only one inspired. Fred and George Weasley, the terror twins of Gryffindor, followed right in their footsteps but I think at this point they have far surpassed their idols."

Harry groaned. "What did they do this time."

Tonks chuckled darkly. "Remember Deloris Umbridge?"

Harry made a furiously disgusted face. "Yes, that blinkered cunt. We briefly met. "

Tonks nodded. "Well, right after you disappeared she was appointed into a dodgy position at Hogwarts. With the loss of all those pureblood families in the Malfoy Manor fire Fudge was scrambling to rebuild his power base, why he thought it would be a good idea to have her in Hogwarts, I don't know." 

"Anyway, what happened to Umbridge at Hogwarts is the stuff of legends now, the twins pranked the woman into a total mental breakdown. She went completely barmy and attacked a student, old McGonagall did not like that one bit. I've heard varying accounts of the duel, all of them Chinese whispers, but I can tell you factually that Umbridge ended up transfigured into a wall. I was part of the team that got called in to get her out."

Harry was shaking with laughter. "Oh Merlin! That takes the biscuit!"

Tonks gave her a fierce smile. "It gets better; St. Mungos patched Umbridge up and sent her back. The twins left her alone until they found out she was using a dark artifact on the muggle born students. "

"What dark artifact?" Harry said with alarm.

Tonks was grim as she spoke. "She reverse engineered a Gringotts high security quill and altered it so it would siphon the blood of the person using it to write with as well as slice them up, then she had children writing lines in detention with it." 

"Writing lines?" Yukio asked cautiously. 

"Writing a word or a phrase hundreds of times in a row as punishment." Harry said through clenched teeth. 

Yukio and Rin both looked shocked. 

"But when you used that high security quill at the bank the bank that fucking hurt! And that evil bitch was using something like that on little kids!? What the fuck!?" Rin bit out in anger.

Harry was fairly vibrating with anger. "Is it too much to hope she is rotting in Azkaban after all that."

Tonks shook her head. "No, she never made it to Azkaban." 

Seeing Harry winding up to throw a spectacular wobbly Tonks held her hand up to stall her. 

"It also came out that she was the mastermind behind the Muggleborn Reclamation Act, which is the legislation that landed you with the Malfoy family. We also think she was directly responsible for the disappearance of the Granger family."

"Fred and George have been cleared of any wrongdoing and Delores Umbridge's death was ruled a suicide but I am certain they had something to do with it. "

Harry frowned and crossed her arms. "So she died?"

Tonks nodded before she chuckled dryly. "It was spectacular; she jumped off the 7th floor railing of the grand staircase at the end of lunch shouting "Parkour is for pussies!" and managed a full flip before she transfigured the floor into jelly and went splat, face first. She did a great job with the transfiguration, she knocked herself out but she didn't even break her nose."

Mephisto laughed. "Was the cause of death asphyxiation?"

"How'd you know?" Tonks smiled as she shook her head. "It's a little sick but everyone just stood there and waited for her to get up. She asphyxiated in 10 centimeters of sugar free pink gauva flavored jelly."

Harry was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, torn between howling with laughter and crying bitterly. She settled somewhere in the middle gasping and crying at the same time. 

"I can't believe those glorious bastards actually figured it out!" Harry leaned forward to put her hands on her knees so she could calm down for a minute while Yukio placed a hand worriedly on her shoulder.

Harry patted Yukio's hand and cast a side eyed glance at both Tonks and Amelia.  "How much do you care about the likelihood that Umbridge was murdered?"

Amelia scowled. "She hurt my Susan for standing up for another student. Susan still carries the words she had to write lines with scarred into the back of her hand. I would have killed the bitch in a heartbeat if I had the opportunity to do it legally.  An honor duel to the death would have suited me fine."

Tonks shrugged. "I don't care if the twins offed her, she was on her way to Azkaban for life in the long run."

Harry nodded. "Yes, right. Hermione's parents were dentists and very conscientious about their sugar consumption but the one sweet thing that they all could agree on was guava jelly. Her mom would make it at home and it was amazing but they rationed it out to the last drop."

"The twins tried to bribe Hermione into helping them troubleshoot one of their inventions; it was a sort of potion that gave the drinker lucid dreams but they kept having problems with walking about while under the influence."

Harry sniggered. "The bribe was for them to develop a sugar free variety of her mom's guava jelly so Hermione could have it at school. She held up her end of the bargain but no matter how many batches of jelly they made they were always just a tiny bit not right."

Harry sighed. "I'm guessing they finally got a good batch of jelly, translated the process into a transfiguration matrix, preprogrammed a daydream draught and removed the buffer that keeps the user immobile."

There was a beat of silence before the giggling started up again. This time even Amaimon was visibly amused despite his tired demeanor.

"That's so eloquent, what a stupendous revenge " Mephisto tittered into the back of his gloved hand. "I really want to meet these two!"

Fleur perked up. "That would be easy to arrange, they are my in-laws. My husband William is their oldest brother. They have a shop at the end of Diagon Ally and they live in the flat upstairs."

Mephisto turned to Harry. "What do you think, one more stop before we go home?"

Harry smiled. "I'm game. I think I'm getting my fourth or fifth wind."

Amaimon watched as Shiemi unsuccessfully stifled a yawn. "Anuie, Angharad-chan, Shiemi-chan and I are going to go home now if you don't need us for anything."

"Where are you guys staying tonight?" Harry asked as she flipped her keys out.

Amaimon and Shiemi exchanged looks. "Can we stay at yours?" Shiemi asked quietly.

Harry smiled warmly. "Sure, if you want to be upstairs you can take the unoccupied bed on Rin's side of the room. We haven't gotten around to cleaning out any of the rooms other than mine and the rooms that everyone used downstairs."

Amaimon sighed softly.  "Thank you Angharad-chan."

"Lewin has your skeleton key right?" Amaimon nodded and Harry tossed him her key ring. "Use the cram school key. The plain security key is for the front door of the dorm. We will try to be home soon."

Amaimon acknowledged Mephisto's subtle shooing motion before turning to Arthur. "Arthur-san if Lewin-san has returned do you want me to pass on a message for you?"

"Just let him know I'm catching up with my sister and my cell service may be a bit spotty." 

Amaimon nodded. "It has been interesting meeting you all. Have a pleasant evening."

He turned the cram school key in a random lock and opening the door for Shiemi, quickly followed her through shutting the door firmly behind him.

Yukio approached Arthur. "Sensei, can you ask Bones-san how she is feeling for me?"

"Ah yes." Arthur turned to Amelia. "Yukio would like to know, how are you feeling now?" 

Amelia gave Yukio a respectful bow. "Young man, I feel increasingly better as time goes on. You definitely have me on the mend so don't fret. Go ahead and go meet the Weasley twins, I daresay you will find them very interesting."

Yukio bowed back and stepped over to where Fleur and Mephisto were discussing transportation options while Rin watched in open amusement. 

"They are in number 93 and while I don't doubt your key will be able to bypass the wards I am concerned we may walk directly into a trap." Fleur was getting slightly flustered by Mephisto's calm but inflexible demands.

"However, I do have a reputation to maintain and besides traveling by floo is terribly messy."  Mephisto smiled aggressively and flourished his key. "I am certain that my suit would never be the same again and certainly Arthur would experience similar difficulty. I insist we travel by key and I will clear the way before letting you follow."

"Letting me follow?!" Fleur's voice pitched up in indignation. "You are forgetting that I'm to make the introductions!"

Arthur lightly placed a hand on Fleur's shoulder and leaned forward to speak quietly in her ear. "Dearest sister, you are coming very close to yelling at King Amaimon's older brother, and while Lord Faust isn't my direct superior he is, in many ways, higher ranked than I am. We work together regularly and if he says he wants to key over first just stay out of his way until he lets you know it is safe to come through."

Fleur blushed and nodded. "My apologies Lord Faust, I respect your ability and authority on the matter. My concern comes from my knowledge that while the twins are generally lighthearted they are deadly serious about security. It is a little known fact the aside from the joke shop they also design wards and offensive enchantments."

Mephisto smiled widely, shoved the plain lock box into Yukio's hands and gave his umbrella a sharp shake. With a poof of glittery mauve smoke he suddenly stood resplendent in his usual foppish finery.

"This occasion calls for a top hat and tails!" He exclaimed with gusto as he danced his key through his fingers and propped his umbrella against his shoulder. 

Slotting his key the the same lock Amaimon and Shiemi had used to leave he flourished his umbrella offensively. "I will be back in a tic" he smirked over his shoulder as the door shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FRED LIVES! Or rather he never died in the first place, yay!
> 
> Got some ginger nut shenanigans up and coming in the next chapter, see you again soon!


	30. Ginger, Spice and Everything Nice!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mephisto gets the drop on the Weasley twins, and everyone is more than a little intimidated by the thought of Molly Weasley finding out about her newly extended family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't noticed Fleur is a magical badass, she's just rather quiet about it......until she isn't. Muahaha!
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Fred whistled cheerfully as he pulled the display merchandise through the double doors that opened into the alley. He waved his wand in a broad arc, guiding the display cart to a stop along side the main counter. All in all it had been a fairly slow Tuesday, the nice weather notwithstanding, and with Hogwarts still in session there was no reason to have the store front open later than 6pm. 

 

He mused that it was highly unlikely they would have any more people wanting to browse; if someone needed something urgently they could use the qwik order catalog and get it nearly instantaneously. There were reasons why they kept a small retinue of free house elves on payroll. Not a few of them were contacts they made whilst skulking about Hogwarts in their misspent youth.

 

George finished the last of his re-stock and carried a small inventory book back up to the main counter where his brother was loitering. 

 

"All done?" He asked Fred who smiled and parroted back. "All done!"

 

"Right then boss, I'm locking up." George turned and swept his wand through a series of complex geometric shapes.

 

"Excellent work boss!" Fred exclaimed "That's a new one eh?"

 

George smirked. "It's the "go lightly" variant, anything sets foot in this building that isn't us and the displacement will set off the alarm system. "

 

Fred quirked a ginger eyebrow. "Alarm only?"

 

George chuckled. "On the off chance something small sets it off like a mouse or an insect I rather thought the full deterrent would be a bit overkill."

 

Fred shook his head amusedly. "You would think that mice and insects would be an ideal addition to an oubliette. "

 

George, out of nowhere, suddenly felt a cold shiver run up his spine. Before he had a chance to ask Fred if he felt the same creeping unease, he heard soft but sinister laughter coming from somewhere above him.

 

There was a man, or something resembleing a man, reclined comfortably on thin air just high enough that George had to crane his neck uncomfortably to see him clearly. 

 

"Marvelous! You have your very own oubliette! It is a novelty to meet others with an appreciation for the classics!" He folded his hands together over the handle of ludicrously pink umbrella in a refined manner. "Of course such a setting is so much better with a cask of Amontillado at hand."

 

Fred and George both assumed defensive stances as soon as the mellifluous voice sounded out from above them but the accompanying visual presence of the being threw them both off kilter.

 

"And exactly who the fuck are you mate?!" 

 

The enigmatic figure smiled, allowing his fangs to catch the light before he casually stepped down from his insubstantial perch. Reaching the ground he removed his top hat with a flourish and tucking his umbrella under his arm he sketched a small mocking bow before replacing his hat.

 

"I am known by more than a few names but here, in this time and place, it is most appropriate to introduce myself as Lord Johann Faust the fifth."

 

"No fucking way." Fred said with wide eyes. "And I'm the bloody Queen!"

 

George shook his head. "It's obvious you aren't a human, and therefore unlikely to be the lord of a wizarding house that old, not that we care about that one whit."

 

Fred stepped up with a menacing flourish of his wand. "We do care, however, about our wards; so mind telling us how you got in and what you want, because if you broke in on a lark it's going to go badly for you."

 

The intruder smiled with far too many teeth to look friendly, unless you were the sort of person who was inclined to cuddle a shark.

 

"Harry did well to talk you both up, you really are quite sharp."

 

Fred and George exchanged dark looks. 

 

"Name dropping now are you?"

 

"You think that's enough to make us lower our guard?"

 

"I don't ask for your trust, I only ask for a few minutes of your time without open hostilities. It's not every day that I have the opportunity to meet such accomplished young wizards, and when I heard about your revenge on behalf of Hermione Granger I was......intrigued."

 

"Go on."

 

"I have a younger brother with an abominable sweet tooth, at the rate he's going he's likely to damage his human vessel with his terrible eating habits. I find it quite distressing and I would be happy to pay you for your time and materials to develop a line of sugar free confectionery."

 

George frowned and crossed his arms. "We are run spare with our joke shop, you would have to make it very worthwhile for us to consider taking on a contract."

 

"My dear boy, I am certain I can do that and more! My one request above and beyond business that you recreate Mrs. Granger's guava jelly for Harry, both the regular and sugar free varieties. It is bittersweet now, but I think in the long run it will make her happy to have that little taste of home."

 

Fred placed a hand on George's shoulder and raked his eyes over the stranger's lean form, taking in the details of his purple hair, piercing green eyes with their slightly slitted pupils, and the faint gleam of his fangs in the low light. 

 

Fred frowned. "You aren't a vampire, though I don't doubt you could pass as one if you tried. You are not human enough to be a pureblood lord, so who are you really?"

 

"I already informed you that I am known by many names and it is true that Johann Faust is the name I am generally known by in the wizarding world. This vessel was indeed born to the Faust family and was the last Lord of that house. As he gave everything of himself to me, I have become him to a certain extent. Some of my other names you may or may not recognize. I am also know by the titles Trickster, Raven..."

 

"LOKI!"  "MEPHISTOPHELES!"

 

Fred and George had blurted out two different names at the same time and turned to look at each other in shock.

 

Mephisto laughed heartily. "Delightful! Yes and yes! My regard for you both just keeps growing. "

 

Fred was the first to recover. "We may dedicate our efforts to Loki but we know better than to trust the trickster himself."

 

Mephisto's quirked a genuine if slightly manic smile. "That is one of the better compliments I have received lately. But as I said, no trust is required as this is not about me."

 

Mephisto's smile faltered. "Harry has had a....difficult couple of days, and though she doesn't show it much she is stressed. We just finished at Gringotts and the DMLE. "

 

"Harry is here......in Diagon Alley....?" Fred asked haltingly. 

 

Mephisto shook his head. "Technically she is at the Ministry but I can bring her here in a trice. However the moment she sets foot on your floor alarms are going to go off and she's likely to blow up the building."

 

The twins gave Mephisto a funny look but before they were able to argue he cut them off. 

 

"I am absolutely serious. Earlier this afternoon she blew out every mirror in my ballroom because it bore an unfortunate resemblance to the the ballroom of Malfoy Manor. I will only bring her here if I have your word that you will not provoke her." Mephisto paused and stared the Weasley twins down with a fierce look in his eyes. "Much has changed since you saw her last but more than anything she needs her friends back in her life. What say you?"

 

George nodded slightly at Fred's barely perceptible signal and immediately disabled the alarm matrix while Fred brought down the majority of the wards.

 

Fred reckleslly eyeballed Mephisto. "All that's left up is basic security and emergency countermeasures for hazardous materials control." 

 

"You have one minute to bring her here." George finished, his arms crossed over his chest.

 

Mephisto smiled widely. "I see her high regard is not misplaced." he swiftly strode to the shop entrance and inserted a curious looking key into the lock. He opened the door a crack and stuck his head through. 

 

"Harry my dear, can you come here a moment?" 

 

A garbled sound of assent could be heard from the other side of the door and Fred and George braced themselves for a confrontation.

 

A short young woman with wild wine dark hair peeked around the door taking in the larger on the inside joke shop.

 

"Wow! You guys got off to a good start with the Triwizard money I gave you.......this is amazing!" Harry wandered through the door awestruck at what her friends had accomplished. Multilevel shelves were crammed to the gills with colorful and fanciful products. Trippy rainbow colored signs moved in scintillating and eyecatching patterns. Cartoonishly oversized display pieces and animated mankins rounded out the visual insanity.

 

"Harry?" George croaked out as Fred gasped. "It's really you!"

 

Harry cocked her head in confusion. "Yeah, of course it's me." she rounded on Mephisto. "Oi! What did you do? Why are they so upset?"

 

Mephisto patted her head condescendingly. "I have been a perfect gentledemon my dear. I believe the simple explanation is that your friends are overwhelmed with happiness at seeing you again."

 

"Why are you still a midget,  midget?" 

 

The question came at Harry in stereo.

 

"Hey! Be nice!" Harry pouted. "I've been stuck in limbo for 15 years and I didn't age at all!"

 

Fred smiled. "Whatever, at least you are here now, come on and give your big brother Gred a hug!"

 

"That's right! And your big brother Forge needs some love too!" George said as he stepped up to Harry effectively trapping her between the two of them. 

 

"You know what this occasion calls for Forge?"

 

"Tickle spiders?" "Tickle spiders!"

 

Harry squealed with laughter as the Weasley twins attacked, tickleing her aggressively before mashing her into a hug.

 

"Ah! Look who came to play!"

 

"Our older sister from another mister!"

 

"Phlegm!" 

 

Fleur cringed as she walked through the door. "Kindly refrain from calling me by that abysmal nickname."

 

"Sure thing flower power!" Fred said with a wink.

 

Arthur laughed merrily as he followed Fleur.

 

"Little Angel!" George said with genuine enthusiasm. "It's been a while brother give us a hug!"

 

Arthur was treated to a crushing Weasley hug sans tickle spiders. "It's good to see you both, you look well!"

 

"We are splendid!" Fred beamed. "How's your man candy?" 

 

Arthur grinned sheepishly.  "Lewin is in good health, unfortunately he was unable to come along today,  but I will make sure to pass on your regards."

 

Rin passed through the door with Yukio just behind him. Yukio shut the door and gave the key to Mephisto as he handled the lockbox awkwardly. "Tonks stayed behind to help Amelia with paperwork. I gave her my key to your office so she could reach us quickly in case of an emergency."

 

Mephisto nodded and intoned "EINS, ZWEI, DRIE!" with a snap and a POOF of glittery mauve a new key popped into bring. "That was well thought out Yuki-chan. This key is similar to the key I gave Amaimon. You won't be able to use it to key directly into your dorm but it will work almost everywhere else."

 

Yukio accepted the key quietly as his eyes darted around the room, he was already feeling overwhelmed by the claustrophobic space.

 

"That..." George began,"...was a very neat trick, perhaps we could....." 

 

"...swap some spells in addition to payment for researching and producing  your sugar free candy?" Fred finished admiringly. 

 

Harry laughed. "He's the real deal guys so get all of your hero worship out of the way so we can visit."

 

Fred and George shared identically sinister smiles. "Oh, we worship plenty on our own time." they sing songed cheefuly. 

 

"In fact you could say that this entire shop is a temple dedicated to Lord Faust in one incarnation or another. " 

 

Mephisto blushed prettily while Rin cackled at his expense. "Oh my god! The clown has worshippers!"

 

Mephisto shot Rin a dirty look.

 

"And who is this fine young man who is speaking....Japanese?" George said with a question mark as he turned to Harry. 

 

Mephisto smoothly interjected. "Please allow me to introduce my youngest brothers, Rin Okumura Egin and Yukio Okumura Egin, the most recent Lords Greengrass and Harry's bonded Masters. "

 

"BONDED!" "MASTERS!"

 

As one Fred and George pinned Rin and Yukio with a look that promised pain.

 

"Woah, bloody hell! Calm down!" Harry yelled as she threw herself in front of Yukio and Rin. "Lord Faust said that the worst way possible just to get a rise out of you! Yukio pulled me out of limbo, and we have a reciprocal bond. Rin was bonded as well because he and Yukio are identical twins but we decided to formalize it so they were both given even standing. The mastership is more of a technicality, I have just as much control as they do!"

 

George and Fred relaxed fractionally until Fred took on a thoughful look. "So basically you are telling us you are married?"

 

Harry cycled through several expressions before lading on shock while Yukio looked like he was close to fainting and Rin turned successively darker shades of red.

 

"What!?! No, I mean.....we just...." Rin spluttered trying to find the words. "Shit......why didn't we think of that?"

 

Fred and George waited patiently for an explanation.

 

Momentarily taking pity on his youngest brothers Mephisto tapped his umbrella lightly on the floor. "Not explicitly as such but they are as good as. I sincerely doubt any other oath or bond could hold a candle to the ties that currently bind them."

 

Arthur hastily added his perspective. "There is a complicated political situation at hand and it wouldn't be helpful for anyone to consider Yukio, Rin and Harry married. As it is we are looking at a difficult path going forward, can I count on you both to keep this just beween us?" Arthur's tense body language conveyed the seriousness of his request.

 

George and Fred nodded. "Yeah, Harry can vouch for us that we can keep a secret." 

 

"We won't tell anyone anything, not even mum and she's a demon when it comes to ferreting out gossip."

 

"Yeah but we've been dodging her for years."

 

"No skin off our back."

 

"It's always good to have more brothers!"

 

"What does that bring us up to?"

 

"I donno, how many brothers you got Lord Faust?"

 

Mephisto who has been watching the rapid verbal exchange with facination answered automatically. "There are ten of us including myself."

 

Doing some quick arithmetic Fred began laughing. George managed to keep talking. "Wow, too bad we can't tell mum, she'd about die to know she had 18 sons considering she only started out with 6!"

 

Arthur looked bewildered. "If I count myself I'm only getting 17, who am I missing?"

 

Fred laughed harder as George just keep on blithely talking. "I'm counting Lewin, I'm sure you will get around to making an honest man of him someday before you die."

 

Fleur finally cracked up. "I tell him to just do it, Ma'man won't stay mad forever, but he just blushes and changes the subject." Fluer took on a wicked grin. "Personally I think Molly would be more worried over having two more daughters she has absolutely no control over."

 

"I get Harry but who's the other one?" George asked while Fred was finally tapering off into hiccups.

 

"Our dear Harry has adopted a blood sister, Shiemi Moryami Peverell Delacour." Her grin shifted into a smirk. "Who is engaged to the Goblin King Amaimon who is another younger brother of Lord Faust."

 

Fred's hysterical laughter started up again while George just open and closed his mouth in shock. 

 

"So wait......" Fred struggled to speak through his giggles. "Delacour? Don't tell me the enclave adopted Harry as well? How many sisters does that bring the count up to!?"

 

Fleur stopped cold for a second looking slightly poleaxed. "Merde, I didn't think of that!"

 

Arthur groaned and rubbed his face in his hands. "We aren't telling Molly anything about anything. She's enough of a worrywart and a busybody as it is. She will get the wrong idea and next thing you know we will be dealing with a triple wedding and fourteen flower girls."

George looked at Arthur a little crookedly. "Fourteen.....little veela girls fighting over who gets to walk down the aisle first." 

 

Fred shook his head. "You know mum would have it sorted youngest to oldest and shame them all into going along with it."

 

Mephisto cocked an eyebrow. "She sounds like a formidable matriarch."

 

"She's a battle ax is what she is." Arthur muttered to himself. 

 

Fleur snorted.  "Qui, a rusty old blade with a wicked sharp edge.

 

Yukio took a deep shuddering breath straightening from where he he had buried his face in the back of Harry's shirt as he clutched the lockbox against his chest. "Yes, let's avoid that potential situation, it all sounds terrifying."

 

Mephisto was startled into incredulous laughter. 

"My littlest Otouto, you have been a fully qualified exorcist for two years, have seen demons your whole life, can be in the middle of a firefight without breaking a sweat, and you are scared of Molly Weasley!?"

 

"Hell yeah, he's scared. I'm scared too and with good reason!" Rin spoke up indignantly. "They said she was a demon who would pull the skin off your back, she has a battle ax AND she raised those two, only a moron would take that lightly!"

 

"Rin." Yukio sighed and adjusted his glasses from where they had mashed up against his face. "They meant that she was like a demon, not that she was a literal demon, same thing with the ax comment."

 

Fred and George exchanged glances with Fluer and Arthur before cracking up spectacularly. Soon everyone was giggling along with them.

 

"How did you two understand Rin and Yukio, they only speak Japanese!" Harry exclaimed once the laughter died down.

 

Fred grinned. "Technically we don't but we have created a brill little doodad based off of our extendable ear design. "

 

George reached into his ear and pulled out a flesh colored tube that looked like an ear plug with a hole through it.

 

He held it out for everyone to get a good look at before he crammed it back in his ear.

 

"Sound enters the tube and is automatically translated into whatever language the user is familiar with, in our case it is English, or at least what an English approximation would be."

 

Fred chimed in. "We have to confess, it isn't perfect but it is discreet and it does a good enough job, even if it is occasionally hilarious. "

 

"How so?" Rin asked curiously.

 

George shrugged. "Most of the time it works intuitively, checking the translation against body language and context but every once in a while it defaults to literal translations."

 

Mephisto snapped his fingers. "Ich habe Schwein gehabt!"

 

Fred and George looked at him incredulously.

 

"You've had......" "....a pig!?"

 

"If you wish to be literal about it. What I meant is that this is quite lucky." Mephisto glanced at Harry who startled slightly at being the center of attention again.

 

"Oh, I don't speak Japanese and we have several students who don't speak English." Harry turned to Fred and George. "How much would it cost to get a few dozen of those?"

 

"For you Harry, nothing. A third of all of this is yours." Fred said gently. 

 

"We have plenty of stock, it's not an item we have made available to the public just yet."

 

"Still trying to come up with a marketing campaign but we need a name first. "

 

Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Hermione gave me a book once that had a creature in it called a Babel Fish. You put the fish in your ear and it automatically translates any speech for you."

 

"Harry!" "That's brilliant!"

 

"What about a goldfish?"

 

"Too bulky! Eel?"

 

"Scary long, too many teeth!"

 

"But it's the perfect shape! What about a lamprey?"

 

"I don't care if they are technically fish, they are fucking terrifying and I'm not putting anything lamprey shaped in my bloody ear!"

 

Yukio hummed thoughtfully. "If you want something visually attractive and functional why don't you model them after synchiropus splendidus, also known as the mandarin fish. Not only are they very colorful, they don't have scales so you wouldn't have to change the texture of the device."

 

Both George and Fred stared at Yukio slack jawed. "Cor blimey, he's a genius!"

"Whatever you are making triple it and come work for us!"

 

Aurther laughed. "Sorry boys but Harry won't let you poach her pet genius and we can't afford to be down an exorcist and an instructor."

 

"Exorcist!?" "Instructor!?"

 

Yukio blushed. "Ah, yes; I am ranked middle first class and I teach demon pharmaceuticals."

 

"Our littlest brother is a badass!" George and Fred singsonged.

 

Rin burst out laughing. "Oh man Yuki, you are still the youngest aren't you!"

 

Yukio spluttered. "That's a technicality and you know it! Minutes Rin! Minutes! And if we are going off of maturity I am way older than you!"

 

"Yeah!" Rin sneered. "At least I'm not 15 going on 35. I know how to relax from time to time!"

 

Yukio snarled. "If you were anymore relaxed you would be clinically brain dead!"

 

"Oh! So now your saying I don't have a brain?!" Rin ground out.

 

Yukio threw his hands up in exasperation. "I said no such thing! You are such a drama queen!"

 

"DRAMA QUEEN!" Rin screeched. "Come and say that to my fist four eyes!"

 

Yukio's eyes narrowed in displeasure.  "I'm not going to fight you Nii-san."

 

"Why? Afraid I might kick your ass?" Rin taunted.

 

Yukio rolled his eyes. "No Nii-san! We will both get pissed off, lose control and end up burning London to the ground!"

 

Rin crossed his arms. "Speak for yourself, I have better control than that!"

 

Yukio sighed and almost seemed to deflate. "It isn't a risk I am willing to take. I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." He grimaced uncomfortably. "I think there are a few things that are a little raw from being tampered with by Satan."

 

Rin transitioned from annoyed to concerned in seconds. "What do you mean?"

 

Yukio looked at Harry who took that as her cue to talk. "I have noticed that Yukio has fragile mental shields, in that way he is very similar to how I was in my third year."

 

Fred frowned. "Is that when Snape was giving you extra training?"

 

Harry nodded. "Aside from defence he was also working hard to teach me Legilimency and Occlumency."

 

"You know, I hate to say anything positive about the great greasy bat of the dungeons but he also did us a good turn."

 

"A few good turns actually."

 

"Yes. I believe he would vehemently deny it, but from time to time when we were working on something potion based he would 'drop' notes in the hallway outside our secret but obviously not secret enough workroom."

 

"Yeah, it's not like he ever popped round to lend a hand but he didn't stop us either so there's that."

 

"....Add in how much time he spent trying to make sure you could use more than expelliarmis....."

 

"....and you could almost call him a saint!"

 

"Saint Slimy Slytherin of Stinking Cauldrons!"

 

"Nonetheless we owe him one."

 

"Firstly, you both shut the hell up about my expelliarmis! I disarmed Dumbledore and Voldemort with that spell. It works. Secondly I might need you guys to interact with Snape from time to time."

 

Seeing perfectly identical ginger eyebrows raised in suprise Harry hastened to explain. 

 

"I have inherited a bunch of vaults undoubtedly full of cursed and otherwise unsavoury goods. The Goblins are auditing them for me but I requested Snape as my dark arts specialist. I'm hoping I can impose on you both to take at look at anything that has the possibility of being reverse engineered or repurposed."

 

"There is a lot of magic that has fallen out of favor and been forgotten recently. We may have the opportunity to steal some pureblood secrets in the process of investigating these artifacts. "

 

"So you are going to poach Snape right out from under Bumblesnore's robes eh?"

 

"Sneaky, underhanded and cold blooded....."

"And then pick apart heirloom magics from some of the most diabolical wizards in recent history?"

 

Harry shrugged. "I suppose you could say that."

 

"We most emphatically approve O Queen of Slytherin!"

 

"Really? I thought you guys were pretty gung ho Dumbledore supporters."

 

"We can't speak for everyone in the family..."

 

"...but Da is good friends with Director Bones." 

 

"One of the reasons he stayed on in Abuse of Muggle Artifacts after the war instead of taking on a more active role in the DMLE was so he could investigate things on the sly."

 

"It doesn't take much to get him out of the office officially, a hexed doornob, color changing rubbish bins....."

 

"Harmless sort of things, he has a lot of mobility, no one asks him too many questions."

 

"Da gets around, occasionally he goes to Hogwarts to deal with items that muggle borns bring in that become magically sentient."

 

"He doesn't like what Bumlebore has done over the years.......

 

"......not one bit. Closing your missing persons case was the last straw."

 

"So you have us, Da, Bill and Charlie for certain...."

 

"Ronniekins won't be hard to convince, he plays chess professionally now if you can believe it, once he has all the facts he will get the picture."

 

"Percy is still a brown nosing, pompous boot licker but he will fall into line and Ginny still hero worships you."

 

Both Fred and George shuddered in unison.

 

"I wouldn't want...." ".....to be Bumblesnore...." "....on the wrong side of her wand!"

 

Harry laughed. "She's still deadly with that bat bogey curse huh?"

 

"Bat....bogey....are you talking about mucosal secreations....in the nose?" Yukio asked haltingly. 

 

George and Fred grinned viciously.

 

"Right in one!"

 

Rin looked throughly confused. "And bats? So booger bats? Bat shaped boogers?"

 

"Yeah mate!"

 

Still seeing the uncomprehending looks on Yukio and Rin's faces Mephisto leaned forward with an evil grin.

 

"Bat shaped mucosal secretions that fly, forcibly, from your sinuses, out of your nostrils and then attack you viscously until the spell runs it's course, which is how long?"

 

Fleur chimed in. "Ginny ez a very talented witch. She can sustain the curse for well over an hour and can modify the spell to affect......other places."

 

Harry looked a little nauseous. "Anywhere with a mucous membrane........" she shuddered. "Blimy that's foul!"

 

"Qui!" Fleur nodded in agreement. 

 

"What about Molly." Arthur asked, firmly ignoring the mental image that Harry's comment conjured.

 

"Mum will go spare and try to kill Bumblesnore herself."

 

"She doesn't take kindly to people who hurt children and Harry here saved little Ginny's life."

 

"Harry may not be the right shade of ginger but she's been a Weasley since she was 12, even if she didn't know it."

 

Harry blushed and ducked her head. "I had no idea Molly felt that way."

 

"Aw hell Harry, Ma wanted to take you in but then you were with the Grangers and you were happy...."

 

".....and Da said if it no broke don't fix it none."

 

"So she let it be....."

 

".....she cried when she heard old Lucy got ya and fainted when she heard you were a goner."

 

"She were ready to tear the old Malfoy place apart brick by brick to find you......"

 

".....jus to give you a place next to your parents but Bill stopped her."

 

George looked over to Fleur who nodded.

 

"The goblins said you weren't dead. Gone, sure, but dead no."

 

"We tried everything we could think of. Even got together with old Tonksie and her Mumsy to play with some *cough* illegal *cough* bloodline magic."

 

"Best we could come up with is you were alive but nowhere."

 

"Literally, we pulled every map we could find, even got a hold of some muggle satellite images, brilliant stuff by the way, and the pendulum always moved in a figure eight, endlessly."

 

"It was absolute mind fuckery........Harry are you all right?" 

 

Harry was standing with her arms wrapped around herself, holding on hard enough to draw blood where her nails had pierced the fabric of her tunic covering her upper arms.

 

"Enough of that." Mephisto interjected smoothly drawing everyone's attention. "Tell your father to contact Director Bones to let her know he supports Harry in the case against Dumbledore. Would your sister be willing to testify against him?"

 

"Certainly, she hates him." "Thinks he's a total fraud with that whole mystic grandfather bit he has going on."

 

Mephisto smiled urbanely but his words still came out as more of a command than a suggestion. 

 

"Pass the word discretely among your family and anyone else you think would be supportive, perhaps the Lovegoods and the Abbots, that things will be coming to a head very soon. Nicolas Flamel will be heading the investigation from the ICW side and he is very unhappy with his former apprentice." 

 

Mephisto gave a flamboyant bow. "And with that last directive we should be going, it has been an exceptionally full day."

 

Giving Harry a concerned look Fred nodded and waved George off. "Give us a moment to gather some product for you and we'll let you be on your way. Harry, luv, it's been beyond brill. Give us a hug?"

 

Harry managed a wan smile before stepping into Fred's embrace. He gave her a gentle squeeze and kissed the top of her head. 

 

It didn't take George long to return with a bulging sack of goods and he traded out with Fred, giving Harry warm hug as well.

 

"Now then, feel free to be strange but don't be strangers!" 

 

"Pop round anytime!" 

 

"Wonderful meeting you little brothers!"

 

"Treat her nicely or else!"

 

George and Fred chattered bright nonsense as they peered around the edges of the door Mephisto had opened with his key.

 

"Brilliant!" "We need ourselves about five or six of those!" "Why didn't you mention magic keys when we were discussing your commission!?" "Cor! Your office is bigger than our apartment, if our apartment wasn't expanded that is!"

 

As the Tokyo group headed through the door into Mephisto's office Fred quietly exchanged business cards with Mephisto and solemnly promised they would be in touch soon.

 

"Nymphadora Tonks is in possession of a key to this office, to be used in the case of an emergency only. I don't want to find the two of you in here taking up space day and night, am I understood?" 

 

Taking in Mephisto's sinister smile which was very much at odds with his stern speech Fred and George cracked similar smiles.

 

"Certainly boss!" "We would never dream of harassing such a noble personage as yourself!"

 

"See to it that you behave yourselves!" Mephisto admonished with a wink as he shut the door behind him.

 

Fred and George lasted exactly five seconds before breaking into excited whoops and jubilant laughter.

 

"Where is Tonksie!?" 

 

"We have to lift that key immediately!" 

 

"Do you think it can be copied?" 

 

"Only one way to find out!" 

 

"We still have that Jelly recipie?" 

 

"In the vault!" 

 

"Both varieties?" 

 

"Ye-p!" 

 

"Yes!" 

 

"I'm fire calling Da!" 

 

"Perfect, he can distract her while we get that key!" 

 

"Not that he would know it......"

 

".....better to apparate...."

 

"......dramatic....less questions?"

 

"Likely."

 

"Now?"

 

"Wards."

 

"Right then!"

 

And with a defending crack both Fred and George disappeared. 

 

"Merde!" 

 

Fluer sighed at the dark and somewhat ominous looking joke shop she was left standing in. Of course they would forget to let her out.

 

She raised her wand to cast her patronus to send a message to William when the wards sent her a mild shock in warning.

 

"C’est des conneries!"

 

She stowed her wand and carefully cast a few wandless detection spells that were handy for occassions like this.

 

The air around her shimmered with colorful chains of looping insanity.

 

"Fils de pute!"

 

She nearly stomped her foot but stopped herself at the last second as she noticed a thin line of blue around the edges of the floor. Knowing the twins it was a pressure sensing charm, and as she was on the floor when the ward was reset it would most likely activate when she moved.

 

For a moment Fleur considered executing a truly evil revenge for leaving her behind like this. But then she got an even better idea, something that would drive the twins completely barmy. 

 

With a beaming smile she cracked her knuckles and began to work; it would take her most of the night to reprogram the wards wandlessly but the end results would be so worth it!

 

Idly she wondered how Fred and George were going to react when all the stock in their store suddenly became sentient, then she giggled and decided a few monitoring spells wouldn't go amiss.

 

It served them right, le branleurs!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hogwarts lets out for Summer break the last week on June-ish, no later than Jul 1st
> 
> In flock of plovers Yukio states that there is a month and a half until summer break, which is about July 20th-aug 31st so this story starts between the end of May and the first week of June.
> 
> Consulting a 2010 calendar, Friday June 4th makes the most sense for the story to start on; which would put this particular scene on Tuesday, June 8th, well before Hogwarts summer break.
> 
>  Also:
> 
> I'm fiddling with the formatting and I think the double spacing is a bit easier on the eyes.
> 
> If you absolutely hate it let me know but I went through and reformatted chapter 1& 2\. Double spaced they seem less like a block of text and more like the writing in my word processing app.
> 
> So progress? LOL
> 
>  
> 
> Translation notes:
> 
> C’est des conneries! = This is bullshit!
> 
> Fils de pute!= Son of a whore!
> 
> branleurs = wankers
> 
> Ich habe Schwein gehabt = I've had a pig/ I've had a stroke of luck


	31. Of Mice and Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mephisto hosts a pajama party that nearly turns into a fist fight.
> 
> As always, hot chocolate to the rescue!

Yukio sighed in relief as he walked through the door into Mephisto's comparatively sane pink and purple office. He set the terrifying lockbox down on Mephisto's desk and slumped forward to lean against the wood. 

 

He never thought he would see Anuie's visual eccentricity outdone by anyone, let alone two humans. Well, arguably two mostly human wizards with nephilium ancestry? Yukio frowned, the furrow between his eyebrows getting just a bit deeper; the line between Human and Demon was becoming frustratingly.....blurred. 

 

"Oi Yuki! What's bugging you?" Rin asked somewhat playfully as he came from the joke shop in high spirits. 

 

Yukio didn't know if he should feel flattered or annoyed by Rin's sudden brotherly attentiveness. The impulse to brush him off and say "nothing" was a deeply ingrained behavior with a hair trigger, he barely stopped himself from uttering a bold faced lie.

 

Ugh, right. Because that was no longer tolerated. Yukio felt more than a little exposed and unsure of what to say. His thoughts were muddled and he kept coming back to the same questions. Well I guess I'm not human now? Or have possibly always been not entirely human? And I'm wondering what is a demon actually?

 

There was beat of silence before Mephisto began chuckling. "Out of the mouth of babes!"

 

Yukio flushed as he realized he had actually vocalized at least part of his thoughts out loud. "Pardon me Anuie, my mind was wandering."

 

Mephisto waved his hand both in dismissal of Yukio's apology and to conjure a change of clothes. With a gentle "poof" fuzzy pajamas and fluffy bathrobes complete with novelty bunny slippers replaced their day wear. 

 

Yukio startled at the tingle of Mephisto's magic but his suprise was short lived. He sighed at Mephisto's predictably pink and purple pajamas. Mephisto seemed to ignore all other colors except for the occasional splash of red. Speaking of, Mephisto's viciously fanged bunny slippers were somewhat cute with their cartoony red devil horns.

 

As far as Yukio, Rin and Harry were concerned, the pajamas mostly followed the general color and design of what they had already been wearing. 

 

Harry's were a purple ombre shading into black towards her feet where her bunny slippers were black. Yukio and Rin were in head to toe black with the exception of the true cross heraldry and Harry's sigil which had simply transferred to the pajamas. 

 

As soon as everyone was dressed to his satisfaction Mephisto slung an arm around Yukio's shoulders and firmly steered him forward.

 

"Now, your mind may have been wandering but it is a reasonable question; or at least one that deserves comfortable surroundings and hot cocoa to be discussed! Come along ducklings!"

 

Mephisto opened a door into frighteningly pink room crammed full of aggressively colorful odds and ends. Giant plush toys loomed over his Yukio's head with their sightless plastic eyes and empty smiles. Yukio had difficulty swallowing saliva past the lump in his throat as his anxiety jumped right back up to the level it was at in the Joke shop.

 

He took back everything he thought about being in Anuie's space; this room was worse......much worse than anything the Weasley twins could conjure up.

 

Harry and Rin gave Yukio concerned looks as Mephisto hustled him through the door and led the way to a collection of oversized bean bag chairs.

 

Relinquishing his grip on his littlest Otouto Mephisto flopped back into the bean bag pile gracelessly, robe akimbo, revealing that he had chosen his pajamas with shorts as opposed to the long pants the rest of then had.

 

Yukio gave Mephisto a wild eyed look at the sheer amount of pale leg he was displaying. He then legitimately startled into a near scream and spun around at the sound of Arthur's voice, which came from the open door behind him.

 

"Mephisto, kindly restore my uniform to rights!" Arthur said from between clenched teeth. The look on his face promised swift violence if his wishes were not immediately complied with.

 

"What Lewin sees in you I will never understand, so dull....." Mephisto muttered as he took a moment to revel in Arthur's fluffy cloud print pajamas, complete with little gold halos and wings. His sword Caliburn was still girded around his waist, his long golden hair was braided in twin pigtails with pink and white polka dot ribbons. That detail, coupled with the fact that his pink bunny slippers had little braids to match, made for a fascinating visual. 

 

Mephisto mused that it was something of a Freudian slip on his part, if one could have such a thing with magic and it have no relation to sex whatsoever. He honestly hadn't meant to include Arthur in the spell; he supposed he must still be tired from the day.

 

"EINS, ZWEI, DREI!" snap POOF ~☆

 

Arthur was once again dressed in his immaculately white facsimile of the Exorcist's uniform. 

 

"Thank you." Arthur said curtly. "I'm going to head to the Vatican Main Office to catch up to Lewin and Osceola. Don't stay up much later, you may all need your wits about you tomorrow."

 

Arthur shut the door and pulled out his keys. "Mephisto, I will contact you as soon as I have any information. " Arthur paused momentarily before reopening the door. 

 

"Normally I wouldn't say this but considering the circumstances......I am forced to reevaluate many things I held to be self evident. Yukio-chan isn't the only one with....questions."

 

Arthur quickly stepped back to buss Harry on the cheek and left.

 

Yukio let out a slightly hysterical chuckle that was quickly picked up by the others until they were collapsed in a heap on the floor.

 

"I can't even!" Harry gasped from where she was slumped against Rin's chest. Rin howled with laughter and thumped his hand against the beanbag chair he had landed in.

 

"How did he not notice before he left!?" Yukio said wonderingly, his laughter finally calming into something manageable despite his occasional hiccups. 

 

Mephisto shrugged with a crooked smile.

 

"Humans see what they want to see. Demons see things as they are. Nephilium have the strengths and weaknesses of both. Arthur wanted his uniform restored and he wanted to trust me. He chose to ignore something that would be obvious to anyone else because he didn't want to alert me to the fact that he is choosing to trust me because ultimately, he doesn't trust me."

 

Mephisto's convoluted, but matter of fact, analysis set off fresh peals of laughter. 

 

"But those braids! I can't believe you left the braids in his hair! Holy fuck Anuie he's going to murder you once he finds out!"

"He can certainly try Rin-chan, in fact I am counting on it. I haven't had anyone seriously attempt to kill me since Shiro-kun had it out for me."

 

"Tou-san tried to kill you?!" Yukio peered up from where he was laying slightly perpendicular with his head nearly in Mephisto's lap. "I thought you were friends?"

 

Mephisto observed how the light refracted through his littlest Otouto's glasses, making his eyes look luminous and huge from where he was sitting. Their resemblance to Otōsama's eyes were still uncanny, even with the haze of bloodlust removed. 

 

Under the regard of those Satan colored orbs Mephisto found himself saying words that he never intended to speak to another living soul.

 

"He hated me because he was a lab rat and I was ultimately his jailer. Despite the fact that there were many things outside of my control he saw me as the axwielding gate keeper. The first time he met me he promised to kill me to obtain his freedom, absolutely adorable I might add, and made a bet with me over becoming an exorcist."

 

"Wait! What? The old man.....was a rat?"

 

Rin's confusion was clear but for Yukio it was like someone had rung a bell somewhere deep in his soul. "Lab rat......test subject....hosts capable of sustaining possession....host bodies....oh my god! Harry was right, there is a secret here and you are the keeper!"

 

Mephisto froze for a split second but that was all the confirmation Yukio needed.

 

"Was it Lucifer or was it the Vatican?"

 

"Both." Mephisto said plainly. 

 

"How many?"

 

Mephisto's voice dropped into a near whisper. "That depends on how you count Yuki-chan."

 

"GODDAMMIT! SAMAEL HOW MANY!?"

 

Mephisto sneered out of habit but it was a brittle facade.

 

"What in the actual fuck are you yelling about Yukio?!" 

 

Rin was looking wildly between Mephisto who looked like he was contemplating reversing time on the whole conversation, and Yukio who was barely holding back his flames.

 

"Everybody calm down." 

 

Harry spoke up from where she was laying on the floor with her arm over her eyes, having rolled off of Rin sometime during her last giggle fit.

 

"Calm down!? Fuck that!" Yukio's words hissed through his fangs. "This used to be an Asylum, a children's Asylum! So don't tell me to fucking calm down!"

 

Harry sat up and eyed Yukio coldly. "Calm down before you explode, literally. I will stop time and obliviate the last five minutes from your memory if that's what it takes to keep you safe. That is a fucking promise *master*!"

 

Yukio opened his mouth and shut it in silence, changing his mind mid thought. He closed his eyes and it became apparent that he was reciting something quietly to calm himself down. 

 

Slowly the oppressive shimmer of power lessened and leached away. Yukio's breathing slowed and evened out. The tail end of his mantra was just barely audible. 

 

"The Lord's Prayer?" Harry asked bemusedly.

 

"I grew up in a Catholic Congregation, it's practically second nature." Yukio retorted without heat. 

 

He pulled his glasses off so he could wipe his burning eyes on his robe and set them aside.

 

"I really don't want to look at you right now. If I look at you right now I will get angry and I would prefer to hear what you have to say. So let's try again; Anuie, how many children were killed in the attempt to make a host body for Satan?"

 

"Zero."

 

"Bullshit!"

 

Mephisto held his hands up placatingly. 

 

"I am telling you the truth. There were no attempts made to create a host for Satan. That wasn't the point of the research at all."

 

Rin grunted. "So if they weren't trying to make a body for Satan than what the hell was being tested?!"

 

Mephisto just smiled tightly at Rin before turning to watch Yukio work his way through his thoughts. His littlest Otouto's facial expressions were hilariously twisted as he dredged his memories. 

 

Yukio's frown lines deepened. "Something Oniisan said about Asteroth has been bugging me.......'he never keeps a host body long because his power decays everything he touches'...."

 

Yukio's head shot up and he gave Mephisto an angry glare. "You absolute bastard! You slow time relative to you! That's how you are able to keep a human body for so long; you are the only one who can!"

 

Mephisto gave Yukio a slow sarcastic clap.

 

"Yes Ototou-chan you have discovered my nefarious secret. Don't succumb to idiocy, it's an unbecoming trait in a person of your intellect. Obviously I am not the only one who can sustain a human body through posession; if that were the case there would be no need for exorcists now would there."

 

"Oh no? Well I feel very confident in my assessment; that just means you have staying power Anuie, something the other demon kings lack."

 

Harry frowned. "You may have a point Yukio. How long did Amaimon have his body before he got sick? Goblin Griphook made it sound like he was suffering tremendously and the Goblins were afraid for his life."

 

"Amaimon was sick, that doesn't make sense?" Rin's face was scrunched into a frustrated grimace. "He's the King of Earth, his realm practically *is* Assiah, why would he have problems with possessing a host here?"

 

Mephisto shook his head. "200 years, so it's not as if he didn't get some use from it, but what you are referring to as sicknesses was simply the host body decaying faster than his powers could sustain it. You don't understand it's not a matter of 'who's powers do what', Asteroth excluded. He really is a rather nasty piece of work; he could hold back if he tried but he enjoys feeling his host rot around him. It's quite revolting actually."

 

Everyone took a moment to contemplate that. Rin let out a quiet "Eeeeeeeewww." 

 

"Harry-chan, at what age do magical children begin their formal training?"

 

Harry started slightly at Mephisto's sharp conversational detour. "Ummm in the UK, usually in late childhood, around 10 or 11."

 

"Why do you think that is my dear?"

 

Harry hummed a bit tunelessly as she considered why Mephisto was asking these questions before she channeled her best "Hermione in lecture mode" voice.

 

"The short answer is I don't know, or at least I haven't found an 'official' reason. What I do know is that magic is an issue of belief, of conviction, coupled with natural ability. No thoroughly mundane human will suddenly develop magical ability, regardless of how strong their belief is; but a magical person whose belief has been destroyed is in many ways rendered powerless."

 

"In addition to belief, having a strong sense of self, of identity, is an integral part of the way that magic works, as magic is an extension of the will. Most young children can only harness their magic in tandem with very strong emotions but around the age of 11 children begin forming a more concrete sense of who they are, then they learn to control their emotions and their magic in tandem with their developing psyche."

 

"Hermione even went so far as to theorize that the different houses existed at Hogwarts to give kids who were little less firm in their convictions a fall back identity to ground themselves in. There was no way for us to test that hypothesis but it does seem that way anecdotally."

 

Mephisto nodded urbanely. "What if I told you that demons are born with all of the conviction, all of the sense of self, all the belief that they will ever need but with none of the physical control."

 

"I would say you have the makings of a disaster on your hands. A magical child like that, whose belief and strength of conviction far outstrips their emotional control, usually dies violently at a young age."

 

Yukio looked disturbed. "What do you mean, how would that make a difference? You make it sound like a magical child who has a strong mind is somehow at risk?"

 

Harry and Mephisto exchanged loaded looks before Mephisto decided to answer Yukio's implied question. 

 

"Yuki-chan, I can see where you may be drawing parallels and it is possible that the binding on Kurikara may have been, as they say, a blessing in disguise. But the topic we are currently dancing around is the phenomenon that colloquially referred to as an obscurus."

 

"An obscurus is a manifestation of a child's magic that has been imbued with so much....belief....that it physically manifests and attacks those it sees as......contrary to those beliefs. The Obscurial, the child who is afflicted, almost always dies, either as a direct consequence of the actions of the obscurus or from magical exhaustion."

 

Yukio took in Mephisto's explanation thoughtfully but was still confused. 

 

"These children die of trauma or exhaustion because they.....believe in something? Biologically that doesn't make any sense!"

 

Yukio ruffled his hair in agitation. "Sure there are cases where people have experienced sudden cardiac arrest in response to paranoid delusions but what you are describing sounds almost like posession.....except these children are possessing themselves?"

 

"Harry, would you like to field this one?" Mephisto asked lowly. 

 

Harry wrung her hands together for a moment as she contemplated Yukio's question; the combination of her scarred fingers and something deferential in her posture clicked in Rin's head.

 

"Abuse." Rin spat the word out in obvious distaste before he sighed and softened his voice at Harry's visible flinch.

 

"That's what you guys mean. Those kids believe their magic is evil, hell that's what they are being told so it must be true right? So they try to force it to go away and they create the exact thing they fear. Fuck, that's messed up."

 

"Their bodies can't handle the strain." Harry said softly. "Too much power......it literally pulls them apart."

 

"And there is the heart of the issue for one such as I." Mephisto placed a hand over his chest dramatically. 

 

"This is the body of a very powerful man who was a master alchemist and conjurer when I met him. I then spent time cultivating him by training him to new heights of magical accomplishment and pushing his abilities to the limit."

 

"So what you are saying is you could only possess a fully grown magical person of exceptional talent and power. How is that relevant? What does that have to with Lucifer, Tou-san and the Asylum children?"

 

"Dearest Yuki-chan, it has everything to do with Lucifer, and I think we have already proven that children are a poor vessel for any demon with reasonably strong magical abilities. Yes there were children here at the Asylum, mostly those poor souls who recieved a mashō at a tender age and were abandoned by society. In those cases we trained them to fight and eventually become exorcists. Those children were never taken, intentionally, as demonic vessels."

 

Yukio crossed his arms and gave Mephisto a flat, if slightly unfocused look. "You can't just out and say it can you? Even as the secret keeper there is a another level to this."

 

"So the children in the Asylum weren't used in experiments but Tou-san was. But certainly he wasn't the only one, the results would need to be repeatable. You could have used adults in the experiments but that doesn't make sense. You said yourself, or at least implied, that it was incredibly rare to find a fully grown, compatible host for posession."

 

"The smart thing to do, from the perspective of a researcher would be to grow........your own.......oh my god. How!? Medical science isn't there yet!"

 

Mephisto drank in Yukio's horrified shock like it was a fine wine.

 

"Is it? Or is it simply a secret not fit for public consumption. Generally speaking playing creator is frowned upon by the masses." Mephisto's amusement at the hypocrisy of humanity was obvious.

 

Yukio shook his head desperately. "There's no way! No way the Vatican would allow the wholesale cloning of humans!! It goes against every principle the order stands for!"

 

Rin and Harry both looked at Yukio in suprise.

 

"I never said they were, strictly speaking, human."

 

Now it was Mephisto's turned to be gaped at once again.

"They were cloning DEMONS?!" Yukio's voice cracked and squeaked on the word 'demons'.

 

Rin was coming to a horrified conclusion. "Holy shit, that makes so much sense now! So who the hell was the old man cloned from?"

 

"Shiro-kun? He was in the A-Z square group I believe."

 

"Az square.....what the hell does that stand for?"

 

Harry shut her eyes briefly. "A-Z square....think about it Rin. A and Z. Another A and Z."

 

"Azazel, King of Ghosts and Spirits." Yukio breathed in horrified wonder. "Not demons.....they were cloning the Baal!"

 

Mephisto stayed strangely silent but his vicious grin spoke volumes. 

 

"Lucifer....Lucifer, King of Light.....Samael you slow time and preserve.....Asteroth creates decay.......light.....light is photons.....no resting mass......no charge so why?" Yukio pulled at his hair the slight pain helped him focus his scattered thoughts.

 

"Lucifer is all light, all possible electromagnetic wavelengths, all at the same time, yes?"

 

Mephisto nodded.

 

"My god........he's exquisitely toxic from a biological standpoint! Not only is he mechanically cooking his host with low frequency microwaves, he's simultaneously bombarding them with X-ray and Gamma radiation! Even with accelerated cell turnover and stem cell therapy to control DNA damage eventually the Gamma radiation will completely destroy the host body's chromosomes."

 

"We studied the Tokaimura nuclear accident for health physics. Ouchi Hisashi was closest to the reaction when it reached criticality, they immediately tested his chromosomes and discovered that they had shattered like glass. Even after receiving periphrial cell transplants his body was completely unable to grow new cells."

 

"His skin peeled off and didn't regrow, he required a ventilator, his body bled constantly and he required almost 24/7 blood infusion, his intestines liquified, his muscles literally melted off his bones, he eventually began going into cardiac arrest and was repeatedly resuscitated.......in all he was kept alive for 83 days.......of pure hell.....how......how can he live like that.....the pain......"

 

Yukio trailed off into thin lipped silence as he glared daggers at the fluffy pink floor.

 

"But demons regenerate faster than humans so......" Rin looked at Yukio who was rocking slightly in agitation. 

 

"That's not possible! I mean logically it doesn't make sense! A demon possessing a demon, they would both have the same problem, neither can manifest in Assiah without a host."

 

Harry watched Rin watch Yukio for a moment before turning to regard Mephisto. 

 

His green eyes glimmered with barely repressed humor at Yukio's highly emotional reaction. His heavy, slightly drooping eyelids gave him the look of a large cat, self satisfied, watching as his prey finally caught onto the fact they were dead mice walking.

 

Mice were used in experiments as an analog for humans because there were certain things that were similar between the two otherwise dissimilar species. 

 

But humans and demons, that's about as different as you can get. In fact it was something of a miracle that they could even reproduce....

 

Mephisto saw the exact moment where Harry understood, and felt to the jiffy the precise instant where her emotions switched from benign irritation to incandescent rage.

 

Yukio and Rin both turned startled gazes towards Harry who was suddenly growling and shedding menacing blue sparks onto the carpet.

 

Rin acted on instinct throwing himself bodily on top of her as she screeched and tried to lunge towards Mephisto. 

 

"HOW COULD YOU!? YOUR OWN CHILDREN!"

 

"My children? I think not! One can hardly call a collection of cells in a petri dish a 'child'."

 

Harry squirmed underneath Rin but was unable to throw him off because Yukio had joined in and was restraining her arms.

 

"Harry! Harry! Calm down!"

 

"NO! DON'T YOU SEE! THEY WERE LIKE US!"

 

"Yeah, Yukio said, they cloned themselves, the test subjects were demons."

 

Suddenly all the fight went out of Harry and she lay limply between Rin and Yukio.

 

"No." She whispered tearily. "They were nephilium. Demons can't be possessed by another demon, they can't manifest in Assiah......but nephilium.....they were like us.....with at least one human parent."

 

Yukio sat back heavily pulling a brokenly weeping Harry into his arms. 

 

"Shit." Rin rose to his knees and considered what he knew so far.

 

"Ok, let me get this clear. Lucifer is toxic to a host body, even our other brothers with less dangerous powers have a hard time keeping a host but they want to be here so they keep trying. For some reason someone at the Vatican thought it would be cool to help you guys create bodies for yourselves, right?"

 

Mephisto inclined his head slightly.

 

"Ok, that's not really bad thing on it's own. I mean it's better than grabbing normal people off the street."

 

Mephisto snorted and smothered a giggle.

 

"Shut it! I'm trying to help you out so Harry doesn't go all medieval on your ass! So the test subjects were non human clones but they weren't exactly demons either."

 

Mephisto spread his arms wide. "Ah! But what *is* a demon anyway? And now the conversation has come full circle. A demon is an entity that is compromised of an idea, a manifestation of ego, of consciousness, and because it is not strictly speaking biologically alive in Assiah it is intrinsically tied to Gehenna."

 

"With very little exception a possession in Assiah is a projection. It is impossible to completely sever the connection to Gehenna which is why a demon can be exorcised and not necessarily killed. Killing a demon......killing a manifest concept, that's another thing entirely."

 

"Wait, so you are here, but you are also in Gehenna?"

 

"My dear Otouto-chan, I am the King of Space and Time, I can be literally anywhere, anytime I choose. However I choose to be here, so no, I am not also in Gehenna. However I, and the rest of our brothers are that exception I mentioned, but for us to fully manifest in Assiah we do need a host body outright."

 

Yukio shifted Harry slightly so he could see over her hair. "But....the Vatican defines demons as non humans or humans influenced by the power of Satan."

 

Mephisto calmly folded his hands in his lap. "Satan *is* Gehenna dear child anything spiritually connected to Gehenna is of his power and carries his influence." Mephisto gave both Yukio and Rin pointed looks. "Some more than others."

 

"On the subject of the Vatican let me iterate; humans see things as they want them to be. Demons see things as they are. Nephilium have the strengths and weaknesses of both."

 

Harry's voice came out in a muffled tone from the vicinity of Yukio's chest. "They don't see us as human because they would have to redefine their ideas about their own humanity. That they kill us is no wonder, 'thou shall not suffer a witch to live', and why should they when we are the flaw in this universe; a glitch in an otherwise perfect reality."

 

Mephisto nodded, conceeding her point. "Yes, but to pretend that glitch can be repaired is the hight of folly. The only way to do so would be to completely start over."

 

"But everything would die!"

 

"Correct."

 

"But you don't want that to happen?"

 

"Also correct."

 

Yuki studied Mephisto's somewhat sincere expression. "So the solution was a compromise to allow demons to exist benignly in Assiah by creating host bodies artificially. This was accomplished by using genetic material extracted from the Baal and introduced into, presumably, cloned human embryos."

 

Mephisto froze completely unable to so much as blink in acknowledgement. 

 

Yukio snorted.

 

"That's a yes then. So what happened?"

 

Mephisto coughed uncomfortably. "What do you think happened Yuki-chan?"

 

"I think it was only partially successful. If you weren't directly cloning yourselves there would have been a lot of variation in the expression of genetic traits. Most of your so called clones would have been more human than demon and the more demonic ones would have been unstable, physically, mentally or emotionally, and died young."

 

"That's probably why Amaimon only looks a bit older than we are, he probably took his host body early."

 

"That makes sense Nii-san, which makes me wonder. What happened to all the clones? If they weren't good candidates for posession where did they go?"

 

Mephisto stayed silent, reclined comfortably in his bean bag chair regarding his little brothers through half lidded eyes.

 

"You said it yourself, the process was only partially successful." Harry's voice was low and scratchy from crying. 

 

She unashamedly took comfort from Yukio's solid presence as she struggled with to articulate the multitude of thoughts clamoring in her mind.

 

"Lucifer's hosts were never able to sustain him, nothing biological in this would could. The whole operation was a farce to buy time.......to buy time for what!?" Harry's voice cracked and she shivered. "But something unexpected happened."

 

Yukio picked up where Harry left off. "Demons have a higher rate of regeneration than humans. Their cells multiply exponentially which would be terrible in a human body, fundamentally that is cancer."

 

"But Lucifer destroys cells faster than they can be created........." Rin face was the picture of labored thinking. "Yuki, you said something about "peripheral cell transplants?"

 

"Ummm, yes. I should clarify that I was talking about peripheral blood stem cells. Those cells can be extracted from a donor and introduced into to a patient whose own stem cells have been damaged. The donor stem cells take over and replace the damaged cells."

 

"And that didn't work for that guy who got nuked because they were human cells and they couldn't grow fast enough, but what if they were demon cells?"

 

Yukio looked a little sick but before he gathered himself to speak Mephisto clapped his hands together sharply. 

 

"Ah, Beliel! Excellent timing!"

 

Beliel swept gracefully through the doorway with a loaded tray that defied gravity.

 

Mephisto snapped his fingers and a low table poofed into being. Beliel kneeled beside his master and began preparing individual servings of hot chocolate. 

 

Rin gave the thick ceramic mug being held in his direction a suspicious sniff before accepting it. Taking a tentative sip he hummed appreciatively. 

 

"Ukobach definitely made this; it's got the tiniest amount of chili mixed in with a hint of cinnamon."

 

Rin went back for another sip, more enthusiastic than the first as Harry and Yukio received their mugs.

 

Harry had mostly uncurled from Yukio's lap and was now cautiously sipping from her mug while she worked on regaining her sense of calm.

 

Yukio frowned at the dark frothy liquid he was served.

 

"It's not entirely wizarding chocolate. The mix there is about 1:3." Mephisto blew the steam off the top of his mug while looking at Yukio pointedly. 

 

"Is there anything else that your Highness requires?"

 

"Not at this time Beliel, you may go."

 

Beliel bowed out of the room leaving behind the tray with hot chocolate and snacks.

 

"See! Isn't this lovely, I told you this conversation would be perfect with pyjamas and hot cocoa."

 

Yukio suddenly had the urge to jump up and fling the contents of his mug right in Mephisto's face. He discovered as he shifted his weight that he couldn't move if he tried, there was a pressure that he hadn't felt before holding him in place.

 

"Drink." Mephisto ordered imperiously and Yukio felt his arm move seemingly of it's own accord bringing the mug to his mouth.

 

He swallowed automatically and felt the warm glow of magically altered chocolate hit his stomach and immediately assault his nervous system. In minutes he was feeling relaxed enough to realize the forceful presence was gone.

 

"Anuie, you bastard! 1:3 my ass!"

 

"Fufufu, I never specified which was which, admittedly underhanded of me I know. But that small bit of subterfuge was for your own good. You really need to relax, all the important points of the conversation have been reached and I won't tolerate you damaging my game room, once was enough for me."

 

"Hey!" Harry said in slight consernation. "I didn't damage anything! It was all an illusion!"

 

"An illusion so realistic I am still traumatized by the memory!"

 

"You?! Traumatized?! You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Yukio leaned forward and slammed his empty mug down on the small table so hard the tray rattled.

 

"I am so fucking sick of your games!"

 

"Lay off Yuki, it's not his fault." Rin looked into the depths of his cocoa for a moment before looking his Ototou in the eyes.

 

"He didn't have to tell us anything. Hell, he wasn't supposed to tell us anything, but he did, in his own round about fucked up way and you know what, I'm grateful. As hard as it was to listen to that shit I am happy to have learned something about the old man."

 

"Sometimes I feel like, he wasn't real, like he just exists in my mind. I never knew much about his life before he got us, I guess I knew even less than I thought about his life while he raised us. I just feel like......anything that brings him closer, even if it hurts, is worth the pain."

 

Harry closed her eyes while Rin talked, listening to the longing in his voice, and feeling the desperation that sang through his soul, perfectly mirrored by Yukio.

 

Exhaling a deep breath she came to a decision before she voiced her thoughts. 

 

"We know beyind a shadow of a doubt that I have absorbed the hallows. I have used the wand consistently, my whole body is now a conduit. I have also demonstrated that I can still summon the weaving of invisibility from the former cloak even though I have physically manifested the wings."

 

"The only thing I haven't tried yet is the stone........"

 

"Are you saying you want to use the stone to call on Tou-san?" Yukio's hand trembled slightly from where he clutched her arm.

 

Harry nodded yes and closed her eyes before she caught the satisfied look that crossed Mephisto's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omake:
> 
>  
> 
> "Oh! Wow.......ummmmm Arthur......your hair looks.....nice?"
> 
>    
> Lewin winced as his compliment came out as more of a question than a statement. 
> 
>    
> Ryuji and Konekomaru gaped at Arthur while Osceola simply bent over laughing hysterically. 
> 
>    
> "Yes, ha ha, laugh it up." Arthur pocketed his keys and began picking at one of the bows.
> 
>    
> Considering how seriously he usually took everything Lewin was suprised that Arthur was so calm about Mephisto messing with his hair and told him so.
> 
>    
> "I have long hair and younger sisters. This isn't my first time wearing ribbons. At least Mephisto didn't glue them in like Odette did the last time, it took ma'man hours to get them out. Great big blue ribbons 'to match my eyes'."
> 
>    
> Lewin snorted and followed Osceola's lead. The laughter was contagious and soon even Ryuji and Konekomaru were caught up in the punch drunk hysteria. 
> 
>     
> "We.....need......to......get......some.......sleep!" Konekomaru gasped out as he wiped half heartedly at his watery eyes.
> 
>     
> "Yes, what he said!" Osceola managed to straighten up and mostly subdue his chuckles. "The suspects have been processed and statements taken. I am unsure when the hearing will be but everything is complete on my end."
> 
>     
> "Good, go home. Get some rest." Arthur clasped Osceola's forearm manfully as Lewin simply went for a hug.
> 
>     
> "Thanks for showing up man! I owe you one!"
> 
>     
> Osceola shook his head at Lewin's words. "I did my job, nothing more. Arthur, keep me informed of how things progress with your apprentice."
> 
>     
> "Apprentices." Arthur chuckled ruefully. "Magical twins are equally beholden to magical contracts. Of course this didn't occur to me until after I had apprenticed Rin."
> 
>     
> Osceola blinked in surprise. "But Exorcist Okumura is a dragoon, he doesn't even have a sword."
> 
>     
> "Harry solved that problem while we were at Gringotts. She had a set of swords in one of her ancestral vaults that she gifted to him."
> 
>     
> "Duel swords." Lewin mused quietly. "I can see that."
> 
>     
> "I can't wait until you actually do see it. He can summon his flames to his swords, in fact, they all can and it's absolutely terrifying."
> 
>     
> "So you will be using bokutō then, at least until you are certain they have control?"
> 
>     
> "Absolutely."
> 
>     
> Osceola nodded. "I see no problem then. Call me if you need unpopulated space to practice in, I know of some safe areas where you can let then cut loose, within reason. "
> 
>     
> "I will. Call if there are any issues moving forward with the trial. "
> 
>     
> "Yes, good night. See you later." Osceola used his oen key to get home.  
>    
> Arthur sighed. "You have Amaimon's key?"  
>    
> "Yeah, let's drop the kids off at their dorm and then go home and crawl into bed."  
>    
> "Yes please and thank you!"


	32. Stayin' alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry facilities a chat with the beyond before she makes a snap decision with wide reaching consequences. 
> 
> The "Potter Effect" is in full force. Hail Eris!

Mephisto leaned forward intently studying Harry's face. Even with her eyes closed her calm words were at odds with her expression. It took him a moment to place what she was feeling but when it came together he couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him. She was scared but determined to follow through, so very brave. 

 

"Are you certain you aren't actually a Griffindor?" 

 

Harry opened her eyes and gave him a withering glare.

 

"If you must know the hat considered me for Griffindor but it got hung up on my potential for "greatness". Now that we know about my ties to Slytherin it makes sense."

 

She sighed. "Look, if you don't think this is a good idea I won't do it."

 

"Oh no, on the contrary I think it is vitally important to see what you are capable of. My concern has more to do with your heart my dear."

 

"My heart?"

 

"Hmmmm yes. I suggest you try to recall Shiro-kun's shade in your human form as opposed to your demonic form. If it doesn't work we can reassess the situation and try again but I am concerned that exposing your heart while attempting such a feat could have unintended......consequences."

 

"Like what?"

 

"Your human body has limitations yes? You feel hunger, pain, fatigue?"

 

Harry nodded.

 

Mephisto continued his explanation as he daintily plucked a marshmallow from the tray of snacks in front of him.

 

He held it up for her to see, securely between his thumb and forefinger.

 

"All of those feelings, all of those sensations that make a human body such a facinating diversion exist, in part, to keep the body from harm. Demonic forms are more resilient true, and feel less, but they also have their vulnerabilities."

 

"The tail for example, one of the few places on a demon's body that exceeds the sensitivity of a human body. Damage the tail and you will cripple the demon."

 

"A demon's heart is also similarly sensitive but infinitely more vulnerable. The heart it is the source of a demon's powers, it's connection to Gehenna. And like any conduit it can be damaged or diverted; if this happens the demon withers."

 

The marshmallow between Mephisto's fingers took on a greyish shrivelled appearance before it suddenly cumbled to dust.

 

"You are worried I will die?" Harry asked flatly.

 

Mephisto laughed. "Worried, no. You are remarkably resilient, I am not certain you can be killed in truth.....but injured, damaged, altered......that is my concern."

 

"So, like you said. Harry tries this in her human form and if it doesn't work we stop." Rin said firmly. "As much as I want to see the old fart it's not worth Harry getting hurt."

 

"Agreed." Yukio sighed and replaced his glasses on his face. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

 

"I have to try and I would rather bring your dad back than anybody else.......I never knew my parents......it would be.....weird." She grimaced at her own awkwardness. "But we should probably lay down some ground rules."

 

"Yes, no telling Shiro-kun how he died. There is a very low risk of paradox but it would be impolitic, agreed?"

 

"Yes Anuie." Yukio responded while Rin and Harry nodded their assent.

 

"So Mephisto how do you think I should do this?"

 

"Here, let me clear our cocoa things." He snapped his fingers and the table, tray and all disappeared in a sparkly mauve cloud.

 

"If you were still in possession of the stone you would need to turn the stone three times while thinking of the person you remember."

 

Harry gave him a narrow eyed look. "So you could only recall someone you knew personally?"

 

Mephisto shrugged and smiled wickedly.

 

"You absolute knob! You made me think I could summon my grandmother!"

 

"I said it may be possible, and it very well may be. Not even I fully understand your connection with the hallows, but I must confess that having you in my lap was, in a word, delectable."

 

Rin blushed at the memory and Yukio's small spike of arousal didn't go unnoticed. 

 

Harry sighed at Mephisto's antics. "Allright, what's done is done. Without the stone what should I do."

 

"There are three of us here with strong memories of Shiro-kun, we should suffice both as a means to reach his spirit and as a substitute for the action of the stone."

 

"So what, we hold hands?"

 

"That should suffice. Harry-chan in the middle, Rin-chan on her right, Yukio-chan on her left. I will take the position opposite, we must extend our arms so there is enough room for Shiro-kun to manifest."

 

They shuffled around moving beanbag chairs back to clear space on the floor. Once Mephisto declared they had enough room they sat in a circle, arms extended, holding hands. 

 

"Ok, I'm going to close my eyes to concentrate on the magic. I need you three to bring up your strongest most recent memory of Shiro and hold onto it. Immerse yourself in it completely and don't let go."

 

Harry took a deep cleansing breath and as she breathed out she relaxed her torso letting her head fall forward. 

 

She felt the tingle of energy in her palms and her fingertips, rushing up her arms to pool on her chest. She absorbed Yukio's crushing dispair, his anger, his fear and his sorrow. Rin's terror and guilt, his sense of loss beat in time with her heart. Mephisto's feeling were subtle, muted but still strong. Sadness at potential unrealized, bitterness over a valued friendship cut short, worry over being alone; Harry pulled it all in holding it carefully. 

 

"Shiro-kun." Harry sing songed in her mind as flashes of violent color painted the backs of her eyelids. "Won't you come back to the ones that love you?"

 

The response that curled through her was less than a word but more than a sigh. The tension in her chest uncoiled and all was calm.

 

"Mephisto, what the hell are you wearing!? If you popped me over here to braid your hair I swear to god I'm going to smother you with one of these stuffed monstrosities you collect!"

 

"Are you.....are you crying!? Jesus fucking Christ man! What is wrong with you!?"

 

"Tou-san?" Yukio called out shakily.

 

The slightly translucent shade of Shiro Fujimoto froze for a second before it turned carefully on it's knees. 

 

"Yukio? Rin! Rin what are you......oh. I'm dead aren't I?"

 

It looked down at it's ghostly hands and chest. "I remember there being a lot more blood." It chuckled nervously.

 

"Well this is awkward. It looks like Rin finally got a girlfriend and I'm not even around to watch him fuck it up spectacularly!"

 

"Shut the fuck up old man! She's not my girlfriend! She's bonded to me and Yukio you old pervert!"

 

Shiro's shade wagged his eyebrows salaciously. "I know they say twins like to share but I never thought you would go and marry the same girl!"

 

It leaned forward and peered through what looked like smokey pink round glasses. "Besides aren't you both a little young still? Mephisto! Why the hell did you let the boys get married?! You aren't pregnant are you?"

 

Harry spluttered for a moment. "NO!"

 

"Well at least there's that!"

 

Mephisto sniffed. "It's good to see you Shiro-kun and no, I did not allow the boys to get married. They did that all on their own."

 

"Well actually Tou-san, Harry is my summoned familiar."

 

"Yeah and then I summoned her as well so she's my familiar too."

 

"Your familiar is hot chick!?" The chuckles began low and slowly turned into full belly laughing.

"Un-fucking believable Yukio! You, actually summoned a demon after, I don't know, four years of not being able to, and she's a gorgeous redhead!"

 

"And then Rin, Rin goes and summons her as well!"

 

Shiro's spirit leaned forward wiping it's non existent tears from behind it's not really glasses.

 

"Ah, my sons. You boys are the best. I am so sorry I died and I'm missing all of this. It hasn't been long has it?"

 

Yukio cleared swallowed thickly. "No, only a few months."

 

Shiro's shade nodded. "Rin, I'm so sorry for striking you and letting that bastard get to you through me, can you forgive me for keeping you from the truth, from him?"

 

Rin ignored the tears streaming down his face. "Yeah Tou-san. I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have said what I did, I love you."

 

"I love you too son."

 

"Even.....even like this?"

 

"Like what?"

 

"Tou-san, Rin and I both have the flames."

 

"Both of you? How?!"

 

Yukio laughed weakly. "Turns out we are actually identical twins."

 

"Mephisto, how did we miss that?"

 

"It was a difficult day my friend."

 

"Yeah, it was." Shiro's shade approximated a heavy sigh. 

 

"I guess I have more to apologize for. Rin the sword was supposed to keep you safe; without it every demon would have felt your presence and hunted you down. It was never my intention to make you feel ashamed of who you are." 

 

"And Yukio as your father I should have realized what you being able to see demons really meant and had Mephisto examine the seal on the sword. I fucked up, I took advantage of your trust in me and I made you into a weapon to protect your brother."

 

"Rin, I was so worried about your demon nature getting exposed and so focused on hiding you in plain sight that I ignored how alienated you were. I allowed you to be lonely and disconnected from your peers because it made my life easier to know that you were at home instead of out in the world."

 

"That was a dick move on my part, but please know I was coming from a place of love for both of you. You are my sons, neither Satan or death can change that."

 

Shiro's shade gave a self deprecating laugh. "Hell, if I had seen Yuri-chan as anything other than an annoying imouto you could have been mine by blood. Not that it matters, but I sometimes wonder if it would have been easier for everybody. But when she told me she loved me I was still an angry little shit and I didn't handle it well at all."

 

"Ah well, hindsight is 20/20. I never did get the chance to rip your throat out Mephisto-kun, you get any good death threats lately?"

 

"Nein, but Harry-chan and Yukio-chan both held me at sword point in the same day."

 

"Good for you, keep this decrepit old bastard on his toes."

 

"Ey!"

 

"Oh hush, you know I'm right. Harry-chan, can I call you that?"

 

Harry nodded.

 

"Harry-chan, please take care of my boys. I trust you will do anything and everything in your power to keep them safe, and if it's not too much to ask, try to be happy from time to time. I would have loved to have a daughter like you, as strong as you are beautiful, you shine like a star."

 

"Mephisto?"

 

"Yes Shiro?"

 

"I'm sorry for leaving ahead of schedule."

 

"So am I Shiro, so am I."

 

Shiro's shade was becoming less luminous and increasingly ethereal. 

 

"Papa?"

 

"Papa, no please, don't go!"

 

Yukio and Rin spoke at the same time, Harry felt their anxiety spike as she felt Shiro's soul begin to drift away.

 

No.

 

NO! 

 

IT'S NOT FAIR!

 

Without thinking Harry pulled, hard.

 

Shiro's soul shuddered like a bug on a pin as she ruthlessly held it down. 

 

"Harry-chan.....what are you doing?" Mephisto asked lowly as he tried to shake Rin and Yukio's grip quickly enough to snap his fingers.

 

Harry ignored him shutting out everything but her desperate desire. 

 

"NOVA NOVITER CONSTITUERE CORPUS!" she screamed the first series of words that popped into her head.

 

The resulting flash of light was blinding and for a second it felt like all the air had been sucked from the room. Harry felt Rin and Yukio get torn from her grasp as she was forcibly thrown backwards. She hurt all over but it hardly mattered, there on the floor at her feet was a man with pale grey hair. That much she was able to see before black stole her vision.

 

"What the fuck was that?!"

 

"Are you all right Rin?"

 

"Yeah was just surprised by the explosion."

 

"That was no explosion!" Mephisto growled out from where he was sprawled against a toppled stack of books. "That was a paradox collapsing and nearly killing us all!"

 

"God! Always so dramatic! Keep it down, I've got a hell of a headache!"

 

"Tou-san?!" Yukio sat up and stared in disbelief at his father who was sprawled in his birthday suit on the fluffy pink rug.

 

"Yeah, it's me, somehow. Can you toss me your robe?"

 

Yukio mechanically stripped out of the fluffy bathrobe and passed it to his father.

 

Shiro took it with a sigh and held it to his body until Mephisto quietly scooted forward to help him dress.

 

Rin watched in stunned silence for a moment before he smiled and turned to thank Harry. His heart dropped when he saw how she was laying, arms and legs akimbo, her muscles lax. He quickly crawled up beside her and patted her face urgently as he searched for her through their bond.

 

"Harry? Harry! Jesus, Yuki! She's not breathing!"

 

"Move! Move!" Rin scurried out of the way as Yukio dropped to his kness next to Harry's limp form and grasped her wrist, looking for a pulse while he listened for her breath.

 

"SHIT!" Yukio pulled her down onto the floor, positioned his hands, one over the other. With the heel of his hand over the center of her sternum he began to push.

 

Rin sat back helplessly as he watched his brother expertly administer CPR. It was brutally efficient and if he didn't know better he would have thought Yukio was trying to kill her, not keep her alive.

 

"......27.........28........29.........30!" 

 

Yukio tilted Harry's head back and pinched her nose shut as he exhaled air into her mouth. He watched her chest rise and then gave a second breath before he resumed chest compressions.

 

"Shouldn't we call for an ambulance?" Rin asked in a shaky voice.

 

"Not necessary." Mephisto replied softly. "Her magic should be recovered enough to respond now."

 

Sure enough Harry had raised her hand and was weakly patting Yukio to get his attention.

 

Shiro propped himself up on one arm still not quite up to the task of sitting but wanting to be able to see Yukio.

 

"Son, she's ok. You can stop now." 

 

Yukio pulled his hands away like he had been burned and folded them together in his lap to hide their shaking.

 

Yukio hunched over Harry's prone form and silently watched her breathe. Harry took the hand she had been patting him with and gently carded her fingers through his hair.

 

"I think you broke some of my ribs." Harry rasped out.

 

"Your heart stopped."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

 

Harry tugged gently on his hair until he turned his face to hers. She took in his red rimmed eyes and silent tears without judgment. 

 

"I am sorry for scaring you but I am not sorry for bringing your father back. Besides, I can't die, not really. I would have come back on my own eventually." 

 

Harry's smile, meant to reassure, was completely out of place with the seriousness of the situation and Yukio couldn't stop the surge of hot anger that was building inside of him.

 

"You were fading, I could feel it. Some part of you was dying and......I don't think you would have come back......the same. Please....."

 

Yukio's shaking had become more pronounced as he struggled to speak. 

 

"Yuki, Yuki. Shhhhhh. Everything is fine."

 

Yukio was torn. On one hand he wanted to shake her until she understood just how fucking wrong she was; nothing about this was fine! On the other hand he wanted to pin her to the floor and fuck her raw to reassure himself that she was alive.

 

Yukio growled lowly and settled for driving his razor sharp claws through the furry pink carpet and into the hardwood floor.

 

Shiro blinked. "Woah. That's new."

 

Yukio snapped his head up when he heard his father's voice. Seeing the shocked look on his face he felt like someone had doused him in ice water. He belatedly realized that he had shifted into his demon form and blushed heavily at his loss of control.

 

Breathing deeply he visualized his human body and shoved. Looking down at his once again human hands he noticed with some suprise that he was still clothed. He surmised that Anuie must have done something to the clothes he conjured to make them accommodate the shift.

 

"Kindly restore my floor littlest Otouto, the rug is hand tufted silk and wool, the wood is mahogany. The lot of it is worth more than you could concieveabley earn in a decade."

 

Yukio flashed Mephisto a painfully tight smile and waived his hands "Repairo".

 

The small chunks of wood scurried back to their respective places and the rent carpeting elegantly rewove itself. 

 

Shiro blinked again. "I think I'm hallucinating and should lie down?"

 

"You are already lying down but that is an excellent suggestion just the same. As a demon my stamina is quite remarkable, and I am certain you have all noticed that you have a bit more energy than you are accustomed to. But now that none of us are dead or dying and we have a slight lull in crises how does bed sound?"

 

Shiro snorted. "After all this time you are finally getting me into your bed." he frowned slightly. "Don't think this means I'm going to fuck you. I may not be the best priest out there but I am a man of my word!"

 

Rin choked on a shocked laugh at his father's blunt assertion. Mephisto barely repressed his eyeroll, but as it was an annoyed grunt escaped his lips. 

 

"I should toss the lot of you in the labyrinth for the night, collectively you are more trouble than you are worth."

 

He stood easily with Shiro in his arms. "Rin-chan please get the door. Yukio-chan bring Harry-chan along."

 

"I need the loo."

 

Mephisto sighed. "Yes fine, you know where it is; Rin-chan come along."

 

Rin gave Harry's hand a reassuring squeeze before he stood and walked over to where Mephisto was was waiting impatiently by the bedroom door.

 

"Yuki there is another door it has gold scrollwork on it. The last time I was here it was in the bedroom but it is probably in this room today."

 

"Yes, I see it."

 

Yukio carefully helped Harry to her feet wincing as she hissed.

 

"It's healing quickly but it hurts like the dickens!"

 

"Come on, let's get you taken care of."

 

Yukio helped Harry walk carefully to the bathroom and when she was having trouble bending enough to pull down her pants he helped her with that as well.

 

She grunted in pain as she sat on the toilet.

 

"It's fine, just give me a minute." 

 

Yukio sighed and stepped out of the bathroom, keeping the door cracked open so he could hear her if she called. After a few minutes he heard the toilet flush and Harry quietly call his name.

 

He stepped back in to help her stand and pull up her pants. She shuffled over to the sink to wash her hands and he caught her eyes in the mirror. 

 

"Harry? How did you bring him back?" he spoke plainly, way past the point felling nice or tactful.

 

"Honestly, sheer dumb luck."

 

Yukio snorted incredulously. "That goes without saying but you are anything but dumb, so how did you do it? Please I just.....I need to know."

 

Harry sighed. "You told me yourself, the time of death was inconclusive, and asked how your father saved Rin when he was already dead. It planted the seed of doubt and I thought, what if, what if he wasn't actually dead just.......disembodied......"

 

Yukio quirked an eyebrow. "He was dead, I saw him myself, afterwards his body was cremated."

 

"But *I* didn't see him, or know that. But I did know he would need a new body, so I took a chance on a recent theory of mine. Mephisto never really said what happened to the clones of the Baal, when he changed the subject I just assumed that they were killed or worse, but what if.....what if they were here just not in the same timeline as us."

 

"That's.....Harry, that's brilliant! Anuie could do it, and he would do it, like killing two birds with one stone!"

 

"I have a similar knack for time manipulation, so I took a chance, summoned the raw materials and made your father a body based on what his soul remembered. I was counting on demonic regeneration to make it viable and.....well, it worked. He may not be exactly the same, body wise, but it is his soul, his memories, his imprint on that body."

 

"Making him Tou-san in every way that matters."

 

"Yeah, that was the idea anyway......look...I just couldn't sit there and watch you both lose your dad all over again it was just........no."

 

"I'm sorry I yelled."

 

"I'm sorry I almost died."

 

"Just please, god, don't do stuff like that again, promise?"

 

"Yuki, I can't promise you that. You are just going to have to trust me. I know I said before that I have abilities that I wouldn't use because they were too dangerous...."

 

"You weren't kidding. Anuie said you collapsed a paradox. For a second there I thought he was going to kill you himself, expect a lecture tomorrow."

 

"Look, it's impossible to know what you don't know until you don't know. I can't always wait for a sure thing and I saw an opportunity to right a wrong so I took it."

 

"I appreciate what you did but you aren't omnipotent and you aren't expendable. Please try to care about yourself more. I don't want to be a widower before I'm out of High School."

 

Harry laughed and then sucked in a painful breath. "Ow you had to make me laugh."

 

"I'm serious."

 

"About which part?"

 

"All of it."

 

"You see us as married?"

 

Yukio shrugged. "Good as. I never saw myself as having anyone but Nii-san in my life. I admit I was shocked when your friends brought it up because it just never occurred to me but I feel very lucky to have you. Because of you my life has warped completely out of control but strangely enough I think it's better somehow."

 

"Tou-san is right, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back I can see just how close to the edge I was. I think I could have easily hurt myself or Nii-san, the way I was thinking was so.....twisted."

 

"A lot of that was Satan influencing your thoughts."

 

Yukio grimaced. "Yeah thanks for the reminder but honestly, I don't think it took much for Satan to push me along. I am capable of making shit decisions all on my own you know." Yukio's self deprecating humor felt flat in the face of Harry's honest regard. 

 

"It's ok." Harry said softly.

 

"What's ok?"

 

"I don't mind if you see us as married, as much as I enjoyed playing with Mephisto and Amaimon I can't see myself living without you and Rin."

 

Yukio sighed as tension fled his body. "Exactly."

 

"Speaking of Rin, bed now?"

 

"Yes please. How about we take the middle? That way you can sleep next to Anuie and I can sleep next to Tou-san. Knowing Nii-san he'll take the outside."

 

"Spiffing. Carry me please?"

 

"Are your legs broken dear?"

 

"Oi! None of that claptrap or I will have to tell everyone what a rotten husband you are!"

 

Yukio laughed quietly as he picked Harry up and carried her to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I love this one so much. It's pretty to the point; there was so much action and direct conversation that I didn't really have the opportunity to wax philosophical. 
> 
> My whole reasoning for bringing Shiro back was simply because I felt like it, and had the perfect plot device to work it in.
> 
> Oh my! Things just got extra complicated!!


	33. Better the devil you know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mephisto and Shiro wake up to the vision of an Angel.
> 
> Breakfast is delicious but also hard to swallow.

 

"Arthur-sama, I would be delighted to lend you my power to smite this loathsome demon!" ~♡

 

"Thank you for the offer Caliburn but he's awake now, smiting is no longer on the schedule."

 

Mephisto cracked one eye open and peered at the painfully white figure of Arthur Angel. Arthur was leaning on his unsheathed sword which Mephisto discovered was uncomfortably close to his face when he tried to focus on it. He blinked and then groaned in irritation when the unwelcome visitor continued to exist. 

 

"Why are you here at this abysmally early hour? Better yet how did you gain entry to my bed chamber?!"

 

"Lewin gave me Amaimon's key. Consider this payback for the pigtails."

 

"Oh? Not going to threaten my life as per usual?"

 

Arthur snorted. "I think we are past that stage in our working relationship, though I wouldn't say no to a spar. The reason I drew Caliburn is I was rather surprised to find a dead man in your bed." he frowned slightly. "And my sister, but I suppose I should have expected that."

 

"Yes." Mephisto grinned lazily. "You should have."

 

"HEY! SHUT THE HELL UP!" Shiro stage whispered from his space in between Rin and Yukio. "The kids are sleeping and you two are loud enough to wake the dead!" 

 

"Ha, ha. Very funny Shiro-kun but I concede your point." Mephisto carefully slid out from the warm spot next to Harry, gving Caliburn a wide berth. 

 

Walking around to the other side of the bed, he carefully lifted Rin from where he was curled against Shiro. He walked back over and deposited Rin next to Harry where he promptly snuggled into her side, his tail relaxed and splayed out across the sheets.

 

Shiro took the opportunity to extract himself from Yukio's grasp and he too climbed out of bed.

 

"Your office?" Shiro crammed his hands in his robe pockets and shuffled his feet on the cool marble floor.

 

Mephisto yawned ostentatiously. "Sitting room. If I'm going to entertain this early in the morning I may as well be comfortable with a blanket and some tea."

 

"Tea would be wonderful but I wouldn't say no to some coffee. I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night." Arthur sheathed Caliburn as he followed Mephisto and the freakishly accurate facsimile of Shiro Fujimoto into a warm little room.

 

Mephisto sank gracefully into an overstuffed chaise leaving the two wingback chairs on the opposite side of the seating arrangement for his guests.

 

"Belial, coffee and tea for three and see if Ukobach is up for making an early breakfast, I am in the mood for lingonberry crepes, or cheese blintz."

 

Mephisto's personal butler emerged from the shadows. "Yes my lord, here is your blanket. I took the liberty of procuring one for each of your guests as well."

 

"Arthur?"

 

"No, I'm fine."

 

"I will take his blanket and mine if he doesn't want it. This bathrobe isn't the warmest thing I could be wearing." 

 

Shiro stood and recieved the blankets from Beliel. He wrapped one around his middle over the robe so it would drape down and cover his feet. He took the second one and pulled it over his shoulders like a shawl.

 

Mephisto watched Shiro with a bemused expression on his face. "Better now Shiro-kun?"

 

"Yeah, until I get some clothes and no, I don't want you to hocus pocus them into existence."

 

"I will inform Belial that you require some mundane garments." Mephisto's eyes glittered with barely repressed humor. "Shall I have him track down a Cassock or are you over that particular fetish now that you have a new lease on life?"

 

"You talk mighty big for someone who wears tights with shorts, and to answer your question, I don't know. Until we figure out what the hell is going on I suppose I should stick to plain clothes." 

 

"Yes. Pardon me for interrupting but what the actual hell is going on?"

 

"Knight Arthur Angel, Paladin of the True Cross Order I believe you are already familiar with your predecessor, the previously deceased Paladin Shiro Fujimoto."

 

"I like that 'previously deceased', it sounds much better than 'un-dead'." Shiro grinned rakishly. 

 

"So they stuck you with the job, not too shabby Arthur. I can think of a number of individuals that I would rather see eat shit than have any real authority. In the grand scheme of things you were a great choice."

 

Arthur was confused and just a bit overwhelmed. "Thank you? I think. But really, how are you here? You were very dead recently. "

 

Mephisto cut off any response Shiro could have formulated. "We have dear Harry-chan to blame for the unexpected resurrection of the previous Paladin. She was.....experimenting with her mastery of the stone in particular."

 

Arthur leaned forward in alarm. "Her heart?! Is she all right?!"

 

"It was touch and go there for a few minutes but Yukio administered CPR and was able to get it beating again."

 

Mephisto groaned at Shiro's blunt and unwelcome interjection. 

 

"That's not......in her human form?! MEPHISTO!"

 

Arthur half stood from his chair before Belial appeared in front of him and shoved a coffee in his hands. Arthur sat back down with an annoyed grunt.

 

"I was specifically concerned because so far as I could tell when she shifted to her demon form the resurrection stone was her demon heart. But I'm glad to know that she's otherwise perfectly safe with you!" Arthur said snidely. "Dammit Mephisto! You are supposed to be taking care of these kids!"

 

Arthur's angry sarcasm was unwelcome in the extreme. Mephisto sighed irritably and gestured with his tea cup which miraculously did not spill. 

 

"Harry is an agent of chaos! All she had to do was channel his spirit, just to demonstrate she was able; she decided at the last possible moment to circumvent the laws of this reality to bring him back in truth. How was I supposed predict that she would do *that*!"

 

Arthur shook his head. "She's Harry Potter, if there is way to right a wrong she will find it and to hell with the consequences."

 

"Yes, well, I had an inkling of her general propensity towards achieving the highly improbable, but to be fair I have only been reacquainted with her these last four days."

 

Mephisto aggressively slurped his tea before slamming the cup back down on the saucer.

 

"Futhermore, if I recall correctly Harry is older than you by four months, she's no child. I would like to see you try to dissuade her from a course of action when her mind is made up!"

 

Arthur took an equally obnoxious swig of his rather excellent coffee before he sighed at his own childish impulse to one up the purple haired demon. He decided to take the high road as opposed escalating the argument further. "Touché. I only just got her back.....it's......difficult."

 

Shiro sat back cradling his tea cup between his cold hands, enjoying the thoroughly bizzare spectacle of Arthur and Mephisto having what could only be described as slightly confrontational but ultimately friendly banter.

 

"Since when have you and Mephisto ever been on casual speaking terms? I thought you said you would rather sacrifice your left arm to Caliburn than spend time with Mephisto?"

 

Arthur startled slightly as if he had forgotten there was someone else in the room. Mephisto took advantage of the slight pause in the conversation that action caused to answer for him.

 

"Since Arthur apologized for his poor manners and overly antagonistic attitude on Monday."

 

"I did not!" Arthur rebutted angrily. "I agreed to a cooperative relationship for the sake of Harry, Rin and Yukio, nothing more."

 

"Ah yes, but we are family now or should I enlist the aid of the Weasley matriarch to publicly demonstrate those bonds?"

 

"Don't you dare you fiend! And you are at best, an in law of sorts, so our association is primarily circumstantial."

 

Mephisto fluttered a hand against his chest dramatically. "I am so very wounded by your callous disregard of my person!"

 

Arthur rolled his eyes. "What my sister sees in you I will never know."

 

"Well you can certainly try. You may be suprised to find that Lewin is quite open to the idea of sharing." Mephisto sent Arthur a wicked smirk over the rim of his tea cup.

 

The aforementioned blond was too busy spluttering and shifting throught shades of red to muster a witty response. 

 

Shiro was able to maintain his composure for a scant handfull of seconds before he broke into loud braying laughter. 

 

"You are both just too fucking precious for words! So Arthur, Harry is your sister?"

 

"Yes, we finalized her and Shiemi's adoption into the enclave yesterday. "

 

"And Mephisto, you are seeing her?"

 

"We've dallied, but a gentledemon doesn't kiss and tell, unless you would like a first hand reenactment?" 

 

Shiro waved off Mephisto's leer. "Keep it your pants, it's too damn early in the morning for that shit. Man, I feel like I need a diagram to keep track of this......" he paused to sip his tea which had cooled to a drinkable temperature. 

 

"Allright, I'm asking because I need to know what the boys are tangled up with. Who or what exactly is Harry Potter?"

 

Mephisto and Arthur exchanged looks before Arthur sighed. 

 

"Angharad Lillith Potter was born July 31st of 1980 to Lord James Potter and Lady Lily Potter, as the last scion of a British noble wizarding house."

 

Shiro interjected. "So wait! She's human?! How the hell did she become a familiar, is she possessed?!"

 

"Peace! No she isn't posessed! She is a child of prophecy, and a powerful one at that." Arthur guestured with his coffee in Mephisto's direction. "This one is responsible for turning her into a demon."

 

"Arthur! Why would you say it like that!?" Mephisto shrank slightly under Shiro's frighteningly angry glare. Without the filter of his pink tinted glasses Shiro's red eyes looked positively demonic.

 

"You turned a 15 year old girl into a demon!? Explain fast!" Shiro ground the words out like he was barely holding back from ripping Mephisto's throat out with his teeth. 

 

"NOT INTENTIONALLY!" Mephisto retorted with some heat. "Mind our agreement Shiro-kun and control your temper!"

 

Shiro laughed and the sound was far from reassuring. "I think you are forgetting something Mephisto. I. DIED. All of our wagers, our deals, our carefully negotiated terms are null and void. I. OWE. YOU. NOTHING!"

 

Like watching a storm roll in on the horizon, darkness gathered in Mephisto's acid green eyes. "You owe me your very SOUL Shiro Fujimoto. Death cannot absolve you of that debt!" 

 

Shiro brazenly stared into the demon's eyes, returning Mephisto's look with equal force. "I am not your dog! Not anymore! You may have a claim on my soul in death but you are going to have to wait to cash in because I don't plan on dying again anytime soon! So try again, how did this girl, who is bonded to *MY* sons, become a demon!?"

 

Arthur spoke up from where he had been watching the exchange between Mephisto and Shiro with growing concern. "A goodly amount of blame can be laid at the feet of Albus Dumbledore. Sir Pheles' involvement was incidental, I was being imprecise with my language and for that I apologize. But I do have to ask... Shiro-kun, was Mephisto coercing you to be compliant while you were the Paladin?"

 

Shiro sighed and waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it Angel, Mephisto and I go way back. I threaten to kill him, he reminds me why that is a bad idea, he threatens me to get compliance, I snap back. It's not so dissimilar to how you two interact. Familiarity breeds contempt; it's impossible to not want to murder Mephisto on a regular basis."

 

Mephisto watched Arthur nod his head in agreement with Shiro through narrowed eyes. "Some friends you two are! At this rate I may have to find your replacements, you wound my heart with your poisonous words!" 

 

Mephisto held his indignant pose for a few more seconds before the tension dissolved into laughter.

 

"Aw shut up Princess!" Shiro guffawed. "You know you live for the negative attention or you wouldn't pull most of shit you do."

 

Mephisto shrugged noncommittally and stared out of one of the oversized picture windows. He absently refilled his tea with a twist of his fingers before he sighed. "Harry stumbled across some artifacts of terrible power that carried a dark curse. And through a twist of fate she was quite literally the only being in two worlds that could master them to the degree of their original master."

 

Shiro gave him level look. "So let me guess, these artifacts originally belonged to you."

 

Mephisto nodded.

 

"So what, she is in the possession of some powerful demonic artifacts?"

 

"No." Mephisto said lowly. "She has possessed the artifacts and has taken on the mantle of their power in addition to the power that is her birthright."

 

Shiro leaned back. "So just how powerful are these artifacts?"

 

"I halved my powers at the time to create them Shiro-kun, but at this point I have no idea."

 

The tea the Shiro had taken a sip of became a fine spray across the table, much the the disgust of Angel and Mephisto, as Shiro doubled over coughing violently. 

 

"HALF YOUR POWERS!?" Shiro wheezed. "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK MEPHISTO!?"

 

Belial materialized from the shadows to clear the tea service and wipe down the table. He set out a breakfast service, the slight clinking of plates the only thing breaking the silence. 

 

Mephisto accepted his plate in silence and took his time cutting into a delicately folded crepe. 

 

Shiro had recovered from his coughing fit and was staring at his plate with a dazed expression. 

 

"Yukio said they both have the flames now and I'm guessing that Yukio and Rin both have a reciprocal bond with Harry. That means that they have bleed over in their powers right?"

 

Arthur took that at his queue to share. "Yes but so far we have only seen it on Harry's side. Of the three of them only Harry has formal magical training. She can manifest the blue flames as well."

 

"And your powers?" Shiro directed the question at an oddly subdued Mephisto. 

 

Mephisto chewed thoughtfully. "I have eons of experience and my connection to Gehenna allows me to draw more deeply on my magic, in that I far surpass her. Bringing you back Shiro-kun very nearly did permanent damage, but factually she was successful and she survived. So far every spell, every test of magic I have tried her with she has been able to keep up admirably."

 

He chuckled ruefully. "I admit she has gotten the upper hand on me several times now, not that she was able to maintain her position long, it was still quite refreshing."

 

"Jesus jumped up Christ on a pogo stick!" Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose where his glasses normally would rest before he wiped his hand down his face in irritation.

 

"Ah, fuck it. Mephisto, my eyesight isn't so bad that I can't do without but I'm getting tired of everything looking blurry. You wouldn't happen to have any of my spare pairs of glasses around the mansion would ya?"

 

Mephisto made a small noise of assent and snapped his fingers. A pair of round wire frames with pink lenses and length of rosary beads sprang into existence. 

 

He grasped the glasses by the temple, carefully avoiding the rosary beads as he passed them over to Shiro.

 

Shiro reached for them casually and yelped, dropping them in his lap as he let go of the strand of beads like he had been burned.

 

Arthur and Mephisto stared in shock at the red marks on Shiro's hand. 

 

"What the fuck Mephisto!? This isn't the time for your shitty jokes!" Shiro clenched the still stinging fingers of his hand and slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair. 

 

The hole he left behind was as unexpected as it was impressive. 

 

"Fuck." Shiro said in a choked whisper. 

 

Arthur put his plate on the table and reached across the intervening space between their chairs to pluck Shiro's glasses delicately from his lap. He casually removed the rosary beads, with their blessed crosses carved from the bones of human saints, and handed them back to Shiro.

 

With shaking hands Shiro donned his now perfectly mundane glasses. 

 

"Please tell me I'm not going to lose my shit like Sabro or end up possessed by *HIM* again?! Once was good enough for me, if I'm gonna end up like Goro just fucking kill me again."

 

Mephisto did not answer immediately, instead he studied Shiro's red eyes through the rosy filter of his glasses. Where he remembered seeing round human irises, slitted demonic ones peered back in obvious distress.

 

"I suppose I really can call you brother now, in truth it would be fitting." Mephisto murmured pensively. 

 

"What the fuck is *that* supposed to mean!?" Shiro roared. 

 

Completely unfazed by Shiro's outburst, Mephisto continued to regard him coolly. 

 

"Tch! Use that overly intelligent brain of yours! You were always the different one; smarter, faster, more resourceful and seemingly much closer to the source material than the other wan.....copies. Your... spirit set you apart, even then I felt it though I never thought it would amount to much. Pity, I may have to relinquish my claim after all."

 

"You bastard! You knew this would happen!" Shiro's bared teeth looked unnaturally sharp in the early morning light.

 

"Shiro-kun." Arthur began cautiously. "We already established that Mephisto had no idea Harry would bring you back. Calm down please and let's talk this through. None of this is making sense to me and I have a feeling it is all vitally important."

 

Shiro took in Arthur's words and tilted his head back with a sigh. Breathing deeply for a moment he massaged the stress wrinkle between his eyes until he felt less blood thirsty.

 

"All right, fine. You don't know any of this because it is before your time and Mephisto can't tell you any of it directly because he is under a contractual oath so you are just gonna have to be take my word for it. I know it's a lot to ask all things considered but will you trust me?"

 

Arthur glanced at Mephisto who was back to calmly eating his breakfast, his savage movement with the knife as he cut into his crepe was the only indication he was affected by the conversation at all. Arthur looked back to Shiro taking in his pained but earnst expression. 

 

"Shiro-kun, I trusted you before, and I will trust you now."

 

Shiro blew out a stuttering breath. "Thanks man. I really appreciate it. The short version of this story is that demons, the kings especially, are a little shitty about getting what they want."

 

Shiro, who had paused to assess Mephisto's reaction, was treated to a haughty sniff and the sight of Mephisto serving himself another crepe.

 

"Basically the kings gained conciousness, some of them were created for specific jobs, some of them were a natural result of elemental magics developing an ego. Regardless they all eventually developed the same desire to exist independently of their father."

 

"Satan?" Arthur interjected.

 

Shiro shrugged. "Satan, God, Assiah, Gehenna, the Obourous, the Lemniscate..."

 

"Human languages are frustratingly limited when trying to explain what is obvious to a higher order being such as myself."

 

Shiro shot Mephisto a dirty look for inturrupting him. Mephisto unrepentantly licked the lingonberry preserves off the back of his knife.

 

Shiro rolled his eyes. "Anyway, point is the Vatican teaches that Gehenna and Assiah are distinctly separate mirrored worlds. One immaterial and twisted, the other material and wholesome."

 

Shiro paused to refill his tea. "They got some of it right; Gehenna is immaterial and chaotic. Assiah is material and fixed but the two leak into each other and they aren't mirror like at all. If anything they are like a fucking Möbius strip. Two seemingly distinct surfaces, one top, one bottom, but if you trace your finger around you find that the top becomes the bottom and vice versa."

 

Arthur frowned down at his coffee mug, which had somehow refilled when he wasn't looking, and took in his slightly distorted reflection in the murky liquid. 

 

"Forgive me if I am being dense but despite knowing what a Möbius strip is I fail to see the significance of the analogy."

 

Shiro's severe expression softened slightly. "Arthur, if my analogy is true, what would happen if Gehenna was destroyed?"

 

Arthur frowned. "It would stand to reason that Assiah would be destroyed as well."

 

Shiro nodded, satisfied with Arthur's comprehension. "Luckily Gehenna is pretty impossible to destroy, it's kinda hard to annihilate something immaterial after all."

 

"But Assiah is material, if, by your analogy, Assiah was destroyed wouldn't Gehenna fall with it?" Arthur asked the question easily even as he felt a sense of growing dread.

 

The teacher in Shiro took pride in seeing the dawning of understanding in a student but the more sentimental side of him felt a little sorry for the recently appointed Paladin. "Yeah, that's right. Destroy Assiah and you destroy everything right back to the moment of creation, like popping a soap bubble."

 

Arthur swallowed down his fear. "Who or what could do such a thing?"

 

Shiro shrugged. "Satan immediately comes to mind but he's not likely to be keen to off himself."

 

"Rin, Yukio and Harry could manage it together if they tried; maybe not today but sometime soon. They are growing in power at an exponential rate."

 

Shiro gaped at Mephisto for a moment before recovering himself. "Fuck! You don't just drop a bomb like that! What the hell have those kids been up to? Do they have no adult supervision!?"

 

Mephisto sneered. "Again the blame can be laid squarely at Harry-chan's feet."

 

"Like we can't see you pulling strings from the background!" Arthur retorted heatedly, Mephisto's reluctance to take responsibility for the actions of his wards was really starting to piss him off. "I am fucking tired of you laying the blame on children."

 

"They are not children!" Mephisto hissed in a dark voice. "The are the first nephilium borne of Otōsama's seed, they are Princes, heirs apparent of Otōsama's power and Harry is a grown woman in mind if not body. I do not fuck children Arthur and I would thank you to not insinuate otherwise!"

 

"Woah, shit I'm sorry for my part but both of you need to calm the fuck down!" Shiro recklessly eyeballed a grumbling Arthur and a snarling Mephisto until they both backed down. "Allright, enough of that crap! No more blaming each other for the current situation. From this point forward we just deal with things as they are, agreed?"

 

He waited until he got a small yes from Arthur and a grudging nod from Mephisto.

 

"Good, fine. We have Satan, the kiddos and one other entity that can blow us all to kingdom come, Lucifer. Problem is, Lucifer would actually do it and has already threatened to do so."

 

Arthur frowned. "That makes no sense. He would be destroying himself along with everything else."

 

Shiro went rigid in his seat, sending his tea cup and saucer tumbling to the floor, distress showing in every involuntary spasm of his suddenly frozen body. "Not so child of the light. Brother Lucifer was the first of us and as he was spawned in the moment of creation he alone would survive to regret." 

 

Shiro gave a small cry and slumped forward with a great whooshing breath. The silence that followed was thick and full of dreadful portent.

 

It was Shiro himself who was the first to recover.

 

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT!?" Shiro frantically ran his hands down his body checking for damage. He stilled his roving fingers just long enough to check his own pulse. "Did I just have seizure?! I remember talking but feeling like I was far away at the same time?"

 

"Pass auf dich auf, Bruder." Mephisto said as he gave Shiro a side eyed glance.

 

Shiro paled. "Fuck!" He breathed out quietly. "No, no, no, no...."

 

Arthur came around the small table and knelt next to Shiro's chair grasping the former Paladin's shaking hands in his own.

 

"Shiro-kun, calm down please. Tell me what is happening so I can help you where Mephisto can't."

 

Shiro laughed humorlessly. "Can't or won't?" he asked the room at large.

 

"Tell him Shiro-kun." Mephisto's voice carried an urgency that his carefully nonchalant body language could not hide.

 

"Fine, fuck, whatever! I..." Shiro swallowed thickly. "Lucifer needed a new body here in Assiah, something stronger than a plain old vanilla human. The Vatican, under the threat of annihilation of reality as we know it put together a research department. They called it Section 13 and they were cloning the Baal. Lucifer himself gave materials for the effort but just to be safe samples were also taken from Samael and Azazel."

 

At the word Samael, Arthur's eyes flitted over towards Mephisto who was watching their interaction with a quiet intensity that sent goosebumbs skittering down Arthur's spine.

 

Hastily jerking his eyes back to Shiro he was just in time to catch sight of Shiro's tired expression before his pride reasserted itself. 

 

"I was the fourth clone in the Azazel group." Shiro spoke calmly but under the urbane surface of his words Arthur could feel the pain and rage that was barely held in check.

 

Arthur held Shiro's gaze steadily, taking in the strange new sight of the slitted pupils in the former Paladin's eyes. He could feel Shiro's hands tensing in his grasp and resolved to make things as easy as he could.

 

"Azazel has long been an ally of humanity, as have you Shiro-kun. The question of whether you are just his clone or his current reincarnation is irrelevant, you will still continue to be you. You have had a life here, a human life, you lived and you died. That is something no Baal has ever experienced before, that has to count for something."

 

"Da Liegt der Hund begraben." Mephisto said sagaciously.

 

Shiro turned away from Arthur in confusion. "What about a dog?! What the hell are you mumbling about?"

 

Mephisto sighed. "I forgot at times that you are a barely educated savage."

 

"And whose fault is that?" Shiro shot back his verbal dart with a grin. He withdrew his hands and patted Arthur's shoulder amicably. Arthur went back to his chair feeling like he had just barely averted a disaster and watched as Shiro slowly came back to himself.

 

"Yes well, things being as they were I can't be held accountable for all of your questionable habits." Mephisto delicately handed off his plate to Belial who had swooped in from seemingly nowhere to clean up Shiro's spilled tea.

 

"Yeah fine, I can agree with your point, even if you were the Director of that god forsaken program you can't be held accountable for everything that happened. I understand that the choice you made was a logical one but dammit, I can't condone or forget the shit that happened there!"

 

Mephisto straightened the neck of his robe and smoothed out his blanket, buying time to formulate a suitable response.

 

"I think that without those experiences, without those hardships you would be less.....human."

 

Arthur didn't miss the slight hitch in Shiro's breathing as Mephisto's words struck home.

 

"Suffering, struggling towards an unobtainable ideal, it is the human condition is it not? Those souls who have drunk deep of the bitterness of life and have not been drowned by it, are they not the strongest, the most worthy? After all, you kept Otōsama at bay for a significant amount of time, at least on a human scale. That took a strength of will not many possess."

 

"You say that Mephisto but I know that to you, to the rest of the Baal I'm just an uppity meat suit."

 

Mephisto frowned. "I can't speak for all the others but you should know, my younger brother has always been very different. He was the first among us to find human companionship....agreeable. He taught his pet humans metallurgy, weapon making, methods to beautify the body, alchemy, and as his children with his human companions grew, magic. As his influence spread and others defected to experience the delights of Assiah things grew.....tense. There was talk of punishment, of wiping out the nephilium offspring and the corrupted humans. Azazel.....protested this plan and gave himself up as a sacrifice instead."

 

Shiro gave a slightly hysterical chuckle. "You're fucking joking right?! You are making your younger demon brother out to be some kind of Jesus messiah who died for our sins or some shit!"

 

Shiro's laughter stuttered to a stop at the deadly serious look on Mephisto's face. "Shit, you aren't joking!"

 

Mephisto folded his hands elegantly in his lap. "All human mythology comes from an indelible truth that has been written into the collective consciousness of your species. The parallels are exactly that, you can choose to believe me or not, but I think you will find you know the truth of the matter already."

 

"Christ, fuck, I mean shit, goddammit!" Shito spluttered and stumbled over his words. "Just NO!"

 

"Hmmmm why not? You know it is true, you can feel it."

 

Shiro sneered at Mephisto. "I refuse to believe that all these years I have been consuming the body and blood of what is essentially myself! What would that make me? The second, or the third coming of Christ?! Christ, Mephisto do you know how rediculous you sound right now!?"

 

Arthur leaned back in his chair and considered the implications. "So what would need to be done to confirm this in the eyes of the Vatican? Would Shiro-kun need to repeat the miracles?"

 

Mephisto hummed thoughtfully. "That may work, I don't doubt Shiro-kun could master those parlor tricks fairly quickly, it's not exactly difficult magic."

 

"What?! No! I'm not going around calling myself the new messiah or anything like that so get that idea out of your heads right now."

 

Arthur shrugged. "It would solve the issue of how to reintroduce you to the order and and secure you a place as an exorcist again."

 

Shiro gave Arthur a wild look. "What the fuck have you been feeding this kid Mephisto, fucking crazy sauce? Am I the only person here who thinks this is actually insane!?"

 

Mephisto leaned back with a self satisfied smile. "Just show up at a party, perform a few miracles, the first one, your apparant resurrection is a freebie." his smile faded. "I would rather that than have anyone know that Harry brought you back. She is already at risk of being abducted for various nefarious reasons, no need to make her more of an enticing target."

 

Arthur nodded. "Agreed, Harry's involvement must be an absolute secret."

 

Shiro winced. "When you put it that way....."

 

"It really is for the best Shiro-kun, and consider, you don't have to announce anything. Just be your normal, charming self; enchant some water carafes, bread and fishes, let the rabble draw their own conclusions."

 

"Oh, that simple huh!? Should I take orders?" At this Shiro put on a mocking high voice. "Would you prefer a white or red? Can I recommend the petit syrah with the salmon, by the way the croissant is freshly conjured! For fucks sake this is a TERRIBLE IDEA!"

 

Seeing both Arthur and Mephisto's serious expressions Shiro had the sudden sensation that he was way over his head. 

 

Mephisto waved a hand dismissively. "We can go over the specifics later but your idea does have some merit."

 

"My idea!?" Shiro croaked.

 

"Yes, Shiro-kun, after all you were the one who concocted such a fantastic scenario." Mephisto hummed thoughtfully. "But clothes first, after all, clothes make the man more or less."

 

Shiro was still in a state of stupified shock while Arthur quietly took his leave. 

 

He didn't snap out of it until Mephisto dumped a pile of primarily black clothing in his lap.

 

"Now get dressed and I shall educate you on the wonders of wearing a French tuck. Just because you are a middle aged single father doesn't mean you have to look the role!"

 

Shiro gave a full body twitch. "Are you implying that I have dad bod!? I will have you know, undead or not, that I have an excellent physique!"

 

"Oh ho, prove it then!"

 

Mephisto watched through narrowed, cat like eyes as Shiro did exactly that.

 

It wasn't until much later that Shiro remembered that Mephisto had already seen him completely naked the night before.

 

"Fucking opportunistic demons!" He swore in the dubious privacy of his own mind. He was greatful to be sucking air above ground, but he couldn't help feeling like he had stepped into some serious shit. Again. Dammit. Lady Fortuna was a bitch of the highest order.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's story was brought to you by Dave Hill performing on Live From Here with Chris Thile.
> 
> He fucking *SLAYS* 
> 
> Watch it, you won't be disappointed.
> 
>  
> 
> https://youtu.be/BAVBLWlz10U
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Translation notes:
> 
> Pass auf dich auf, Bruder = look after yourself brother
> 
> Da Liegt der Hund begraben= that is where the dog is buried/ English equivalent is "that is the heart of the matter"


	34. Hey kids, you wanna get high?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry, Yukio and Rin play fight. 
> 
> Mephisto and Shiro real fight. 
> 
> Things are both heavier and lighter than they seem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been really sick. I'm still grinding away at various projects but everything is slow going, my apologies for the glacial pace of updates.
> 
> I hope this chapter whets the appetite!

Rin blinked blearily at the dark purple material that was bunched and twisted around his right hand.

 

He worked at freeing the trapped extremity and reflected on what woke him up; he had been dreaming about something physical... running perhaps... or was it fighting...? Floating? Fucking?

 

He snorted at that last one; sex was a pretty constant companion in his thoughts since he figured out what felt good and what got him off. He wiped his sweaty brow on Mephisto's expensive silk sheets and let his arm fall back onto the bed. 

 

"Ow you prat! Watch where you throw those things!" Harry grumbled lowly as she cracked one eye open to glare balefully.

 

"Sorry!" Rin whispered. "I thought you were on the other side of the bed. Why did you move?"

 

"I didn't!" Harry's voice came out in a low irritated hiss.

 

Rin blinked and looked at where he was in the bed. "Holy shit, does this mean I can fly now?!"

 

Harry had to smother her face into her pillow to muffle her laughter. It was really difficult to stay mad at Rin for any length of time. He had a purity and goodness of spirit that when coupled with his occasionally naive world view, made him disarming in the way that babies and small puppies were.

 

Harry finally turned her head to take in his suprised but still sleepy expression. "No, I'm pretty sure Mephisto moved you so your dad could get out of bed."

 

Rin's breath hitched slightly. "Our dad. I think at this point you have as much of a claim as Yuki and I. He wouldn't even be here without you, so..."

 

Harry closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't know how I feel about that. I don't know him at all, not saying he isn't a good dad. I have no experience being anyone's kid and, no offense, I don't think I want to start now."

 

Rin held in the protest that was on the tip of his tongue and swallowed down all the reasons why it would be wonderful for Shiro to be a dad to all of them. The only stray thought that escaped his lips was "It would be like we were a real family."

 

Harry gave Rin a gimlet look. "We are a real family Rin. The ties that bind us that are more real and immediate than the ties of birth and blood. Don't forget, we chose each other, that means something." Harry reached out and poked Rin gently on the nose. "Boop, I have hit your reset button so stop being maudlin!"

 

Rin smiled brilliantly before his expression became serious again. "Can you explain to me why Yukio and I have balanced our connection and he can make himself look normal while I still look like this?" Rin gestured to his pointed ears and elongated canines. "It would be great to ditch the tail too!"

 

"Just how much do you know about your brother Rin?"

 

Rin frowned thoughtfully. "We used to do everything together when we were little. Grade 1 was a disaster for me, I almost got held back but Yukio sailed through it no problem. Grade 2, I was in trouble a lot and Yukio had lots of extra lessons.....oh my god!"

 

Rin gave Harry a wild eyed look. "He said he began training as an exorcist when he was 7. I remember him being gone with the old man all the time but I just thought it was, you know, Yukio getting extra attention or treats or something for being so good."

 

Rin screwed his eyes shut in concentration before he slumped in defeat. "Everything I thought was wrong. My memories are all out of place."

 

"He can do the full transformation because he has training in meditation, a strong sense of his physical body through marshal arts, and is constantly maintaining control over himself. You saw what happened when his control slipped."

 

Rin chuckled weakly. "Yeah, he went full on demon in seconds. I suppose I have him beat there, I may not have the best control but aside from when the seal had been broken on Kurikara the first time and when the seal was removed I haven't slipped into my full form. I may be stuck somewhere half way but that is better that being a full on demon everytime I get upset or overly excited."

 

Harry blushed while Rin chuckled quietly.

 

"You heard about that huh?"

 

Rin tapped his chest. "I felt it, the two of you nearly brought me to my knees. It's a good thing I was pretty much done cooking and Amaimon was there, if had just been Shiemi......" Rin shuddered lightly. "I wasn't thinking at all, by the time I snapped out of it long enough to realize something was happening I had already bitten Amaimon and was trying to climb him like a tree."

 

Harry quietly contemplated what Rin said, and implied. "I'm sorry, at the time neither Yukio or I were thinking about how emotional feedback through the bond would effect you."

 

"I'm not saying you can't be alone together... just, give me some heads up so I can be somewhere safe in case I lose it like that again."

 

"Ok Rin." Harry leaned forward and gave him an obnoxiously loud smacking kiss on the forehead that made Rin laugh brightly.

 

"It's too early in the morning......both of you need to go back to sleep." Yukio's voice was rough and slightly muffled by his pillow.

 

Harry and Rin exchanged impish grins.

 

Rin slid out of bed and came around to Yukio's side, making sure to be extra wiggly while getting back under the blankets. 

 

Yukio grunted slightly at the disturbance but welcomed Rin into his side readily enough. With Harry snuggled against his other side he was very quickly drifting off into sleep again.

 

Which is why he did not see the tickle attack coming.

 

"WAKE UP SUNSHINE!" Harry sang as she brushed her fingertips under the edge of his pajama shirt. Rin went for the sensitive skin at his exposed neck line and Yukio was lost.

 

His indignant screeches were drowned out by maniacal giggles. His attempts to free himself the fiendish clutches of his brother and his familiar were foiled by Mephisto's sumptuous, but slippery silk sheets.

 

"AH NO! STOP! AHHHHHHHH" Yukio managed to gasp out inbetween convulsive silent hiccups.

 

Suddenly the bedroom door slammed open with a sharp snap. Shiro burst into the room, a stylish pair of black leather pants twisted in his hands, fully ready to garrote the poor sod who got in his way.

 

"What's wrong!? Where are they!? SHOW YOURSELF DEMON AND DIE FOR TOUCHING MY SON!"

 

A sedately bemused Mephisto followed with his bathrobe trailing behind him.

 

"That's enough you two. At this rate something unfortunate will happen and my bed clothes will be absolutely ruined!"

 

Shiro stopped short and gaped at Mephisto who smirked as a red faced Harry and Rin emerged from under the blankets.

 

"Thank you Anuie!" Yukio gasped tiredly, before he smacked Rin upside the head.

 

"OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR YOU SHITTY FOUR EYES!"

 

"I HAVEN'T PEED YET THIS MORNING IDIOT! I NEARLY WET THE BED!" Yukio finally freed himself from Harry and Rin's trap, and fairly flung himself though the conveniently placed gold gilt door.

 

There was a beat of silence before raucous laughter dominated the room. Shiro's killer intent was as gone as quickly as it came, with nothing else to do he tossed the leather pants in Mephisto's general direction and flopped bonelessly across the end of the bed.

 

"You all right there kiddo?" 

 

Rin frowned and rubbed his sore head. "It was Harry's idea, I don't know why I got hit for it."

 

Shiro swallowed his laughter. "Son, just think of that as payback for every time you woke your brother up before his alarm went off as a kid. For someone who sleeps so much you are suprisingly impatient when it comes to other people needing to sleep!"

 

"Oh yeah? What about you old fart, why are you up so early?"

 

The crooked smile faded from Shiro's face and he rubbed his chest uncomfortably.  
"Angel stopped by to give us an update but we ended up bringing him up to speed on me."

 

Shiro gave Mephisto a slightly upside down frown. "Did Arthur even tell you what he came over for?"

 

"Aside from some vague notion of exacting revenge, no, he did not. Excuse me it is apparent that I need to make a phone call."

 

Shiro grunted his acknowledgement as Mephisto sighed and stalked from the room with a put upon expression. 

 

"Angel was here? Is everything ok?" Yukio stopped halfway through the bathroom door, concern showing in the tense line of his body.

 

"Everything's fine Yuki, come back to bed." Harry patted the space between herself and Rin. "We kept your spot warm!"

 

Shiro sat up momentarily so Yukio could climb into bed before flopping back down with a sigh.

 

Rin poked his father's head with his foot. "What's up with that sweater? You look even older than usual."

 

Shiro fingered the thick white cable knit wool. "Actually I was suprised Mephisto still had this old thing. Your mom knitted it for me, I donno, I guess she was really trying to do right by me but..." 

 

"The sweater curse." Harry intoned seriously. 

 

"The sweater is cursed!?" Yukio sat up in alarm.

 

"No son. It's not cursed, not in the traditional sense anyway." Shiro scrubbed his hands down his face. "I had already been ordained, had affirmed my evangelical counsels. I knew Yuri was interested, had been interested for a long time but I thought she had moved on, found someone better to spend her feelings on."

 

Shiro snorted dryly. "I forgot how stubborn she was, how steadfast... she said she had hoped to give it to me as an anniversary gift, an anniversary for what I never asked. She heard I became a priest when she was putting the sleeves in but she finished it anyway."

 

"Damn old man, that's just... sad. Why didn't you give mom a chance if she liked you that much?"

 

"Rin, the truth is she was way to good for me. I'm a nobody from nowhere; I had no family and there's no future in being a dog for the order. Best I could hope for is to die doing something useful for someone else. It would have been wrong to drag her down with me."

 

"So you just left her alone for Satan to pick up the peices?" Yukio's voice was cold and had the force of a stiletto behind it.

 

Shiro winced as Yukio's words struck home.

 

"It wasn't like that. He was her first friend, her Rinka, she had known him since she was a child. It wasn't until he grew an ego and possessed a body that things started to go off the rails."

 

"So wait, are you saying mom is the reason Satan got a handhold in Assiah!" Rin's face was pale. "She summoned him here?"

 

"Not as such." Mephisto poofed into the middle of the room fully dressed in his eccentric headmaster getup. He shook his cellphone and watched the multitude of charms click together with narrowed eyes before he looked up to address the room at large.

 

"There were signs, prophesies, indications that Otōsama was becoming aware... that he was no longer self contained and dreaming... he began reaching out looking for something... he found someone who was as lonely as he was, a small child and engaged her in play. It was sweet, it was innocent, but as she grew Otōsama grew..."

 

Mephisto trailed off into silence. He tapped his candy pink phone lightly against his lips as he pondered the business of the day. 

 

"Shiro-kun, I would like you to remain here until Knight Redarm presents the findings from his investigation to the Gregori. Parading you around at this moment would divert attention away from finding out the real perpetrator behind the attack on Rin, and I..."

 

"ATTACK!? WHAT ATTACK!" Shiro sat up so violently that the slippery silk bedding deposited him on the floor.

 

Mephisto let out a laugh at Shiro's pained grunt but smothered his humor quickly as a murderous glare was leveled in his direction. 

 

"Upper First Class Exorcist Kirigakure made good on her threat to bring her suspicions about my intentions towards dear Rin-chan to the attention of the Gregori. They responded with truly inspiring swiftness, assembling an inspection team to accompany Arc Kight Lightning and Paladin Angel the very next morning. Apparently the inspection team, with the exception of Lightning and Angel, was comprised almost entirely of tamers who took it upon themselves to attack Rin and two of his classmates."

 

"Good lord, get to the point! Are you telling me, Shura, of all people, organized an attempt on Rin's life?! I know she didn't want to train him but I think you are barking up the wrong tree princess!"

 

Mephisto frowned at the less than flattering nickname and gave a haughty sniff. "I have said no such thing, and Arc Knight Redarm is heading the investigation personally."

 

Shiro hauled himself off the floor and into a back creaking stretch, more out of habit then necessity.

 

"Well, good to know she hasn't lost her damn mind, you are a suspicious, devious pain in the ass and anyone that doesn't question your intentions should be screened for brain damage." Shiro scrubbed his had through his hair and stopped self consciously at the look Mephisto directed at him.

 

"Don't smile at me like that, good god man, you look like you are eyeballing a steak!"

 

Mephisto simply deepened his shark like grin. "It is nice to have you back Shiro-pon! I'm sure that I will never tire of you sich über mich lustig machen, just think! We will have the joy of each other's company until we are beyond old and grey. Luckily you already look the part, so you have some idea of how gracefully you will age."

 

"Yeah, good try, but we both know demons don't age, they just rot, so how's the replacement body farm going for you, oh yeah, right, sorry, not sorry for your loss."

 

"You really are an intractable kleiner Scheißer without your leash, going to show me your edge, Razor?"

 

Shiro sputtered and wheezed unpleasantly. "I thought we agreed to NEVER bring that up again!"

 

"Ah, but as you yourself pointed out, all previous deals are null and void, care to discuss terms?"

 

"No thanks, I will take my chances!"

 

Mephisto smilled brilliantly. "Oh boys, did you know at one point your father un ironically called himself Razor in an attempt to be stylish?"

 

"I WAS A KID! I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER!"

 

"Hmmmmm, yes, and what about the time you used your non existent rock band as a pickup line?"

 

"I had a serial number tattooed on my arm what the hell else was I supposed to say about it? Being in a band was the best excuse I could come up with you ass!"

 

"Oh, didn't that particular liason lead to you accidentally booking your non existent band, and being contractually obligated to perform?"

 

Shiro flushed and crossed his arms stubbornly. "No picture, no proof!"

 

Mephisto snapped a spool of 35mm film into existence with a slick grin.

 

Shiro paled before he reasserted himself confidently. "You're bluffing!"

 

"Care to test that theory?" Mephisto's eyes sparkled with barely repressed malice. "Or would you like to make a deal?"

 

"You fucked with time to get that didn't you!? You colossal asshole!" Shiro struggled internally for a moment before he came a decision.

 

"FINE!" He spat contemptuously. "Name your terms."

 

Mephisto smiled winningly. "You follow my directions to the letter until it is time for your coming out party. Once I decide that you are properly reintroduced to society and stable then I shall allow you to be, as they say 'free range'."

 

"Fuck it. Play the film. I'm not going to be a dog ever again, there's not a goddamn thing you can hold over my head that's worth it." Shiro leaned nonchalantly against a bed post.

 

Mephisto's eyes shifted slightly to focus on Rin and Yukio, who were watching the discussion spiral out of control with a kind of horrified awe. Harry affected a nonchalant pose but her eyes were tracking every his every movement and her body was tense, prepared to take action in an instant.

 

Shiro felt more than he saw the moment when Mephisto deducted his newest soft spot and steeled himself for an emotionally brutal guilt trip.

 

"Are you saying the safety of your sons isn't worth being slightly inconvenienced?"

 

Shiro's lips compressed briefly but he maintained his defiant stance.

 

"What about Harry? Are you prepared to be the reason why her liberty is in jeopardy? The minute they acertain that her powers are demonic in origin they will literally tear her apart. I may be powerful but you know my hands are metaphorically tied should that scenario come to pass." 

 

Mephisto took on an unusually solemn expression. "I know you wouldn't wish that particular horror on any living thing but consider that factually, Harry cannot die, and then consider how exponentially monstrous that is. We must avert the possibility of such a thing coming to pass with all of our considerable skill, the alternative is unthinkable."

 

"No, not happening." The sharp tone in Harry's voice cut through the intensity building between Shiro and Mephisto, like a lightning rod bringing an errant atmospheric charge to ground.

 

"You don't get to do that Samael, I am not going to sit back and be your excuse. Tell him the truth."

 

"Pray tell my dear, what truth would that be? The truth that Shiro-pon is as impulsive as any demon child with no real idea of the scope of his powers. That his training as an exorcist means nothing because everything he learned, everything he is trained to do, is just as likely to injure him as an opponent. That ultimately freedom is an illusion at best, a delusion at worst, and that none of us. Not. A. Single. One. is truly free, that true freedom is annihilation, the end of all things, and forsaking your safety for his own wounded pride is the surest way to see the worst come to pass!"

 

Mephisto's hair spike, usually a cheerful plucky curl, practically quivered with the minute movements of his body. It took a few seconds for Shiro to process the fact that Mephisto was subtly showing an emotion that he didn't think the purple haired prick had in him, fear.

 

"Dammit, you aren't kidding are you?" Shiro's barely spoken words caused Mephisto's ears to twich and his lip to curl in irritation. 

 

"I concede to using humor to try to appeal to your ego but there is nothing remotely disingenuous about what I have said; I am most emphatically not, as you said 'kidding'" 

 

Shiro and Mephisto regarded each other tensely, both looking for any flaw, any sign of weakness in the strength of the other's conviction. 

 

After a few moments Shiro sighed and removed his glasses to briefly pinch the bridge of his nose.

 

"There has to be a middle ground Mephisto, I can't blindy and willingly walk into a muzzle. I struggled with it when I was mostly human, now.......now it's taking all of my willpower to stand here and not jump out that window. The boys are worth it, Harry's safety is worth it but I just.....can't." 

 

Shiro's voice cracked and fell away, silence took hold of the room until Harry brought her fingers together in a snapping motion.

 

"Amaimon! You said he's a... what did you call it? Vassal lord, yeah! Why can't Shiro swear an oath of fealty and stop at that? He would be a subordinate but would also be autonomous, it seems like a fair compromise."

 

Mephisto's face cycled through several micro expressions before settleing on wary. "He would have to take on the mantle of Azazel in word and deed. In doing so he would cease to be Shiro and instead become something else."

 

"So what? Would I lose all my memories? Undergo a personality transplant? Grow another head? Just how different are we talking here?"

 

Mephisto took in Shiro's calm determination with slack jawed disbelief before he visibly gathered himself. "No, absolutely not! You would cease to exist all over again!"

 

Shiro's lips quirked in a wobbly grin. "What afraid you are gonna miss me oh mighty king of space and time?! Just pop back a few years whenever you want a fix, that's easy enough for you!"

 

"I have done, and down that road lies madness. In case you were wondering your ghost is rediculously chatty and has no respect for classic console games. So thank you but I shall have to settle for talking you out of this fool hardy venture! Why is it you are determined to throw yourself upon your own sword!? Is my stewardship so distasteful that you would rather die than be guided by my hand!"

 

"I'm not a fucking toy or a pet Mephisto! You seem to be taking the fact that I was created in your lab to mean that I am somehow adjunct to you and should automatically bend to your will. Just the fact that you disapprove makes me want to do it all the more. Also you seem to be forgetting something important in all of this; like you said, freedom is an illusion... cause in the long run I don't have a choice do I? He's just gonna pop in when he damn well feels like it and I can't stop him, you can't stop him, Harry can't stop him. How could we when he's me....or I'm him....or to be honest I don't really fucking know or care."

 

Shiro dug his nails into his palm and desperately wished he had a smoke. "Look Sammy, I have one opportunity to decide and it's the decision between now or later; I'm picking now before I get too attached to my life again."

 

"Don't think that taking on Azazel will give you license to call me "Sammy". Even without an oath I outrank you by several orders and if you want to keep your filthy tounge in your idiot head you would do well to never call me that again."

 

Shiro, sensing he had won the battle smiled blithely at Mephisto, even as the purple haired demon raged and the shadows grew behind him.

 

"No problem, sheesh, don't get your panties in a twist! I solemnly swear I will never call you Sammy again!" Shiro yelped as he felt the oath take hold. 

 

"Shit, what the hell princess? That had some bite!"

 

Mephisto sighed. "Welcome to demonhood Shiro-pon, now can you understand why I feel compelled to save you from yourself."

 

"Father, what does Aniue mean by taking on Azazel, his form in Assiah is crystallized... you... you aren't going to... ingest some part of him are you?" Yukio's expression was one of horrified disgust.

 

Shiro and Mephisto glanced at each other before breaking down into slightly hysterical laughter.

 

"Oh lord! Ah, Mephisto, let's go lick Azazel, could you imagine!? We would get high as a kite!" 

 

"That would be a new low even for me but I concede the point that the hallucinations would be... potent."

 

"Like licking a toad, a big rock candy psychotropic toad!"

 

"Ah yes but you forget that most unfortunate side effect of..."

 

"...uncontrollable..."

 

"... flatulence!"

 

"Demon king of wind, my ass, literally!"

 

Rin chucked a pillow at the two snickering demons, nailing Mephisto square in the face. "Dammit! This is serious! Quit fucking around and tell us what is going on!"

 

"It's like my powers, they are there, Shiro can draw on Azazel's mantel..." Harry frowned "Or Azazel is just taking his time taking possession of his new vessel. Please tell me I'm wrong..."

 

Shiro grimaced apologetically. "No that's pretty much it. Earlier today Azazel briefly took possession and spoke through me, as easy as breathing. My soul is mine, I'm sure of that but this body... this body is all his, I'm afraid I'm on borrowed time."

 

"Shiro... I'm so sorry, I... I thought this would work but... I didn't have time to be sure, I just had to try..." Harry's lip wobbled and she looked suspiciously bright eyed.

 

"Shit, don't cry kid." Shiro sighed. "I think I can strike a deal with him, maybe let it happen gradually. It wouldn't be strange, everyone changes if given enough time, to be honest you all probably wouldn't have noticed unless we told you."

 

"Dad..." Rin's tremulous voice cut the air like a knife. "Please don't kill yourself again... I don't... I want..." Rin's choked out words were smothered by his hands over his mouth holding in sobs.

 

Shiro took in the sight of even usually stoic Yukio beginning to crumple into tears with growing dismay. "Ah fuck, Samael, what should we do?"

 

Mephisto gave Shiro a level look. "Now you wish to do things my way?" 

 

Shiro flushed. "Like hell Samael!" His words seemed to issue from the air around him and a small breeze set the curtains covering the windows into motion. Intermittent light streamed into the room making disorienting patterns appear on the marble floor.

 

Mephisto sighed. "He is here now, ultimately it is your choice to make."

 

Shiro gave Mephisto a sharp look. "My choice is between a rock and a hard place; you have caused me a lot of trouble over the years Samael. The rock hasn't pissed me off, yet. I choose the rock."

 

Shiro jerked slightly, his eyes slid shut against the growing wind as the atmosphere in the room charged with power. Harry shifted into her demonic form, her wings spread wide sheltering Rin and Yukio behind a hastily cast barrier.

 

Only Mephisto stood his ground, completely unperturbed by the incredible violence of the air in his bedroom. 

 

As suddenly as it came the wind stopped, the curtains and draperies snapped back into neutral positions with a muffled whump as gravity re-asserted its hold.

 

"Yes, well, now that you have had your fun Azazel what do you have to say for yourself, hmmmm? Going to smash my windows next?"

 

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, so dramatic as always Princess! It was just a light breeze, calm the fuck down!" Shiro's eyes snapped open and pinned Mephisto with a baleful glare. "That was one time, I was drunk and you were being a dick, besides they were shittily made and you know it!"

 

"Those were a one of a kind prototype that led to the construction of the crystal palace, which would have happened 10 years earlier if not for your carelessness!"

 

"1840, 1850, who cares, not like you couldn't have popped forward anytime you wanted."

 

Mephisto audibly ground his teeth. "It is the principle of the thing! I don't go around breaking your toys, I would thank you to leave mine alone!"

 

Shiro suddenly pitched forward crowding into Mephisto's space, despite his shorter stature he suddenly loomed over the purple haired demon as his feet no longer touched the ground. "You never saw them as anything but toys, objects to be tossed away once you grew tired of them or they outlived their usefulness, but to me they were my family. You say you haven't broken any of them but you have bent them and shaped them haven't you Samael. So many dead, not at your hand true, but by your inaction, you let Lucifer unleash his madness on all those children, for what, a handfull of years in a stolen body?"

 

Mephisto stood his ground staring at his younger brother with blazing eyes until Shiro's feet touched the ground with a grunt. 

 

"You may be older than me but you're still a pussy, can't even tell big brother to go fuck off a tall cliff."

 

"Yes, well, I like living as much as the next sentient being and not all of us can make due with existing as a rock."

 

Shiro snorted. "Yeah, whatever. Are you going to tell the kids or am I?"

 

"Tell them what exactly?"

 

"The truth."

 

Mephisto sucked in a startled breath before he smiled sharply. "My, every one seems to be insisting on the truth." he spat the word as if he tasted something particularly foul just as an insistent electronic melody split the air shrilly. 

 

"Odenwa arigatou gozaimasu!" Mephisto chirped cheerfully into the pink plastic of his phone. "...so soon? Yes, I will be there immediately!" 

 

"That my darlings means time is up! Eins! Zwei! Drei!" Snap POOF!

 

Shiro felt the breath leave his chest in a woosh as he was pummeled by the suprisingly heavy bodies of his sons and their familiar. 

 

"Ow, my wings, Yuki watch your elbows!"

 

"Dammit Harry, get your knee outta my crotch!"

 

"Fucking Mephisto! Where the hell are we!?"

 

"All of you shut up! Shiemi is sleeping!" Amaimon unceremoniously plucked Rin and Yukio off of Harry who rolled aside far enough to allow Shiro to stagger to his feet.

 

"Get the door!" Amaimon's low growl prompted a sleepy Fawkes, who had been perched on the back of Yukio's chair, into activity with a flurry of feathers. Without the barrier of the door impeading his progress Amaimon stomped down the hall. He set a weakly struggling Rin and Yukio on their feet and pointed imperiously down the stairs waiting for Shiro and Harry, who was now carrying a slightly disgruntled Fawkes, to pass before following them down.

 

They gathered in the doorway to the cafeteria, trying their very best to not look at each other. 

 

Feeling annoyed by the tense atmosphere Amaimon's usually impassive demeanor cracked. "What did Anuie do this time? Why is Imouto shifted and who the hell is that!?"

 

Shiro smiled a cheeky grin at the green haired demon. "I'm suprised you don't recognize me little brother, I'm sure I'm not that different from what you remember."

 

Amaimon's eyes narrowed to slits and he stepped closer to Shiro giving him a firm sniff. "You are not Azazel." he said as he stepped back. "You may look like him, talk like him, but you smell different, like gunpowder and metal."

 

Shiro laughed. "As always little brother, you are much smarter than you look, though taking up residence in one of Samael's clones has helped in the looks department, after all Samael always did like pretty things. I am not Azazel that was, well, not only."

 

"Dad?" Rin spoke up shakily.

 

"Yes, son?"

 

Shiro answered without hesitation turning to look at Rin who drooped miserably. A quick glance at Yukio showed he wasn't faring much better, his breath too fast and the whites of his eyes glistening with unshead tears.

 

Shiro took no time stepping forward and sweeping them into a hug. "Shhhhhh, shhhhh it's alright. Everything's fine I'm still here. This isn't like what happened with Satan Rin, I'm still me."

 

Yukio's tears finally spilled and his voice was raspy when he spoke. "How. How are you who you say you are?"

 

Shiro grimaced slightly as he pressed his sons closer, his hug becoming uncomfortably tight for a moment before he regained his senses.

 

"I was a clone, they gave me the number 004 but I never really knew how that number was relevant. Why the two zeros in front why not just the number 4?" Shiro took in a shuddering breath. 

 

"It should have read as 204, if they were counting chronologically but once they reached 100, they reset the numbers. The 0 at the beginning was used as a placeholder, a null value, as if the 200 lives that were snuffed out before mine had no meaning."

 

Shiro's hands clenched and he pulled Yukio and Rin back far enough to look them in the eye. "You are my sons by choice, biologically you are my nephews, spiritually, my brothers. I will be there for you in any capacity you allow me to be, if you want me to get lost I will go. Just know I love you both no matter what, the two of you will always be the best things that have ever come into my stupidly long life."

 

Shiro straightened and pulled his arms back letting them fall limply at his sides. "You want to know how. I remembered what it felt like to want to rip Samael's throat out with my teeth and it occurred to me that he was right; I had always been a bit faster, a bit, smarter, more rebellious than the other clones. Only Goro could keep up with me, and, well even then he was just a bit behind."

 

"I remember now!" Amaimon breathed in shocked awe. "You are the one that got away! We were all so envious, you never stayed to play and Anuie positively gloated over you, it was quite annoying at times."

 

"Yeah well I didn't care to hang out with the little kids, you all just dropped like flies." Shiro sneered before frowning. "You took that body a bit early didn't you."

 

Amaimon flinched as if he was struck. "I had as much choice as you did in the matter, it is happenstance that your body wasn't prepared for your power at an earlier date."

 

"Exactly, lemme see if I can explain this right." Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh as he adjusted his glasses.

 

"I have always been Azazel to a certain extent, the only barrier between us was my somewhat human body, without that inherent frailty I am now Azazel in all the ways that count. I have his abilities, his memories, but I'm also me with my thoughts and feelings. There are a lot of things that demon kings don't understand, as powerful as they are, they can be way out of touch with reality, so my experiences, my personality is in charge."

 

"So you are still an old fart is what you are saying." 

 

Shiro smiled at Rin's attempt at bringing some normalcy to the conversation. 

 

Yuiko shook his head slowly as his brothers words penetrated his shock. "Nii-san! Quit being so rude!"

 

"I am happy to be your old fart, that is, if you'll still have me."

 

"So what do we call you now?"

 

Shiro smiled softly at Rin. "I was kind of hoping you would still call me dad, even though you are all grown up now."

 

Rin took in the slightly pleading look Yukio was giving him. "Fine, come here Dad, so I can kick your ass for making Yuki worry."

 

"How about we take a rain check on the ass kicking and just go in for a hug."

 

A smiling Shiro pulled a grumbling Rin and beaming Yukio in for another hug.

 

"NII I NEED SOME LEXI NATA NOW!" Bellowed a high pitched voice from the stairwell. Nii complied with a joyful squeal and Shiro stumbled hard as a massive shrubbery hit him solidly in the back of the head.

 

"What the hell Moriyama-Chan!"

 

"Shut up you fiend! You are a bad spirit pretending to be Shiro-jisan and I won't let you hurt my family." Shiemi advanced in rumpled sleep wear, her blond hair sticking in all directions, and brandishing a thick branch of something with wickedly sharp thorns.

 

Amaimon smiled and clapped his hands together gleefully at Shiemi's threat of violence. Harry took that as her cue to intervene before things got messy. 

 

"Shiemi, put the weapon down. That really is Shiro, or at least a reincarnation of Shiro, and yes it's all my fault."

 

Shiemi gasped and dropped the stick. "How!? When!?"

 

Amaimon frowned and sucked his nail for a moment. "If we are going to discuss this all over again perhaps we can do it with food, I'm hungry."

 

Rin snapped into action. "I can cook breakfast! Shiemi, Harry will you help me?"

 

"Sure Rin." Harry sighed as she regained her human form, wings would be an absolute liability in the kitchen. Shiemi followed along with a confused look leaving Amaimon, Shiro, Yukio and Fawkes standing awkwardly in the front of the cafeteria.

 

"Who's the feather duster?" Shiro asked as he hooked a thumb in Fawkes direction.

 

Fawkes squawked indignantly before he flashed away in bright ball of flame.

 

"He's Harry's familiar, I guess." Yukio said somewhat distractedly.

 

"Your familiar has a familiar that's one of Lucifer's kin? How do you know he isn't a spy?" Shiro cocked an eyebrow at Yukio's shudder.

 

"Mephisto was going to kill him, very nearly did kill him, but Harry spared him and he swore an oath. He's known her since she was a baby, he's occasionally a bird brain, misguided, but as loyal as you can get. If he is a spy, which all things considered is entirely possible, at least I can say he's on Harry's side completely."

 

Shiro gave a low whistle. 

 

"Imouto is... special." 

 

Shiro took in both Amaimon and Yukio's subtle posturing, it was obvious they both cared for her deeply.

 

"You won't hear a bad word about her from me! If it wasn't for Harry I wouldn't be standing here talking to you two."

 

Amaimon cocked his head in confusion. "Harry brought him back; made him a new body and shoved his soul into it before Mephisto could do more than blink."

 

Amaimon stared at Yukio blankly before he erupted into deep chuckles. "Ah! I bet Anuie was angry at Imouto!" 

 

Yukio frowned. "She almost died."

 

Amaimon's humor left as quickly as it came. "She has an annoying habit of doing that doesn't she."

 

"Yes she does."

 

"We will have to punish her later so she will learn her lesson."

 

"...punish?" Yukio said hesitantly as Amaimon's golden eyes bored into his own teal blue.

 

"She has to learn that she can't throw herself into harm's way. Eventually she will get hurt badly, and that will hurt everyone. Better a little pain now to avoid more pain later."

 

"He does have point son." 

 

Yukio shook his head. "You don't understand her background... she... it won't work. She needs us to help her but not like that, she thinks too little of herself as it is!"

 

Amaimon looked from Yukio to see the dawning of comprehension on Shiro's face. "Is this a human thing that I won't understand?"

 

Shiro grimaced and ran his hands through his hair. "I donno maybe. What do you remember from before when you were still a kid in section 13?"

 

Amaimon grunted. "Enough."

 

"Remember those kids that shut down, no matter how much they got cut or what they got injected with, they just sat there and took it?"

 

Amaimon's lips tightened and his face looked as if it could have been carved from granite.

 

Yukio sighed. "She had a bad childhood, she's been hurt a lot, in many different ways. Coming at her with anger just won't work... we can't... I won't do that to her."

 

"That's fine son, we'll find a different way, right Amaimon?"

 

Shiro waited until Amaimon grunted his assent, before he turned back to Yukio with a smile. "How about we go see what is going on in the kitchen, perhaps we can snag some honey for Amaimon while we wait."

 

At the mention of something sweet Amaimon perked up considerably; he followed Yukio and Shiro across the wide room to the kitchen with the ghost of a smile on his lips and a contented purr tugging at his chest.

 

 

 

 

****************  
"And now for something completely different."

~Ok sweet! I learned something today that I feel compelled to share!

[Credit to Grinu, Sovyetic and Skeleton for the discussion on the BE discord server that gave me actionable info, seriously kick ass]

~Without further ado!

 

~Back in chapter 28, in my author's notes I contemplated the symbol on the ties at True Cross Academy ( and on the patch, on the heraldry, and well... basically everywhere).

 

~The reason why I couldn't find the meaning of the kanji used because it's written in Siddham script, a script used for writing sanskrit and is NOT kanji, so completely disregard my previous analysis, unless you want to look at it as a symbolic interpretation, in which case it still has some validity (I will leave it up just for shits and giggles).

 

~ The following is the real deal:

 

"Acala-vidyārāja is known in Japan as Fudō-myōō. He is a wrathful figure associated with Vairocana. He is frequently described as a messenger, but his main function in the Mahāvairocana Abhisaṃbodhi Tantra is as a destroyer of obstacles." [1]

 

~Ooooooh, sweet sauce!. In case it didn't click right away this is the principal deity of the Myōō Dharani sect in Kyoto.

 

"Acala means "immovable". Vidya can mean knowledge, but is also a synonym for mantra and is frequently used to refer to magic. It can be taken to mean something like esoteric knowledge. Rāja means "king". He is also known simply as Acala (Fudō), or as Acalanātha, "immoveable lord". Fudō is also part of a group of Vidyārājas." [1]

 

~The Acala mantra is one we are (presumably) familiar with; Ryuji and Kenokomaru chant it, as well as other members of their sect (so far as my uneducated ears can deduce). The mantra (medium length) transliterated reads as "na maḥ sa maṃ ta va jrā nāṃ ca ṇḍa ma hā ro ṣa ṇa spho ṭa ya hūṃ tra ṭ hāṃ māṃ" [1]

 

~That second to last word is super important; hāṃ, written in Siddham script is the the "mystery symbol" plastered on all the True Cross stuff. Hot damn! Mystery solved!

 

~But what does it mean!?

 

"This is a wrathful mantra which includes words which must be understood in the context of Tantric Buddhism. For instance caṇḍa means "violent", mahāroṣaṇa means "great wrath", and sphoṭaya (or sometimes sphoṭya) means "destroy". Anger is associated with, and transformed through Tantric practices into the Mirror like Wisdom of Akṣobhya that sees perfectly clearly. The energy of the anger is directed towards breaking through to Buddhahood, it breaks through spiritual ignorance." [1]

 

~Full disclaimer, I am no expert on Buddhism and rather than blindly regurgitating someone else's interpretation, I felt like it would be prudent to establish context, specifically starting with the problem of translation of Buddhist texts into Chinese (tangentally why at first I thought I was looking at kanji/ hanzi, aside from the fact I know zip about sanskrit).

 

[Re the spread of Buddhism in China] "The first records tell us about monks Kasyapa Matango and Dharmaraksha [during the rule of] Emperor Ming of the Han. Almost a century later, in 148 CE, we have a better detail of the encounter of an Iranian teacher, An Shih-Kao, arrives in the northeast states with sutras and translates the Ssu-ti-ching which has 3620 Characters, and no transliterated concept."

 

"To show a bit of the effect we can read a version [of the text translated similarly]:"

 

"The prajna-paramita is samyak, great bodhi, vijna-paryaya, the dharma of skandhas. Now, what's Vijnana? What is not strained by svabhava in all sarvadharma."

 

~There is the essence of the idea but it still remains largely incomprehensible because there are concepts that are still completely encoded in the original language. 

 

~Later efforts skewed in a completely different direction.

 

"In the 5th century, we have the presence of Kalsayas from central Asia, the Nepalese Buddhabhadra (359-429) who accompanies the famous Kumarajiva (344-413) from Kutxa, a small kingdom on the southern silk route. Thanks to the chronological registers [that are so confusing], we know many things about this great wise man who has left us some texts that are still classic and re- labeled."

 

"His [Kumarajiva] task was to clarify concepts [that were completely] alien to the Chinese worldview. He prioritized transmitting knowledge and did not reproduce the original word in such a way that they are preferred to more careful subsequent translations. [Still] the Mahayana texts managed to impose themselves and give an idea of global doctrine."

 

However "...with the concepts [that] the syllables did not communicate anything, he only distorted the meaning and entered contradiction with the Confucian [worldview]."

 

"Let's take an example: [the concept] to 'go begging' was acceptable in Punjab, but outside the Yangzi."

 

"[This concept was translatd into] 'leave-family-and-follow-him-dao' "

 

~As you can see the attempt to make a literal translation led to some strange interpretations of cultural concepts where there were no direct parallels. 

 

[Then] "around 520 CE, the Bodhidharma missionary [began] to emphasize texts as meditation and present the genesis of what [would become] the Ch'an / Zen."

 

"On different trips Bodhiruci, Ratnamati, Buddhsanta, and also Paramartha extend the translated sutras and it is possible to put all the available texts in order."

 

"Master Xuan Tsang made a long and legendary journey (606-647) with 22 horses [carrying] scriptures and other sacred objects, [he brought] a more inner and less transmitted Buddhism. At the end of his years he wrote to Ta-t'ang His-yü-chi:"

 

"Sanskrit words should be translated. One must make an effort to keep the original form. Take the pattern of the orthodox textbooks, [tear them apart] and then [talk] about them. I fear to pervert the truth."

 

~In the long run there were two schools of thought on the subject; translators who favored Kumarajiva's literal but sometimes incomprehensible translations (the belief was study and discourse could over come such imperfections) and those who upheld Xuan Tsang's view that the original sanskrit words had to be conveyed in a way that perserved their original form. 

 

~ Despite Kumarajiva's method having the widest influence, the ideas set forth by Master Xuan Tsang persisted; but before we get into that in more detail, it is important to step back a little. I need to mention a tiny snippet of the evolution of written script in India.

 

"The Gupta script, which is also known as the Gupta Brahmi Script or the Late Brahmi Script, was used for writing Sanskrit in the Gupta Empire, which existed from about 320 to 550 AD. It developed from the Ashokan Brahmi script, and developed into the Devanagari, Sharada and Siddham scripts." [2]

 

"Siddhaṃ is an abugida [a type of writing system whose basic characters denotes consonants followed by a particular vowel, and in which diacritics denote other vowels] rather than an alphabet."[3]

 

"Each character indicates a syllable, including a consonant and (possibly) a vowel [if the vowel sound is not explicitly indicated, the short 'a' is assumed. Diacritic marks are used to indicate other vowels, as well as the anusvara and visarga. A virama can be used to indicate that the consonant letter stands alone with no vowel, which sometimes happens at the end of Sanskrit words]." [3]

 

~Siddham, which translates into perfect or complete, turns out to be the exact vehicle for thought that Master Xuan Tsang was looking for. While the script existed in his lifetime, it's proliferation may have been slowed in such a way that he did not come into contact with it but it is more likely he employed the use of this script and encouraged it's adoption, even though there is no documentation that explicitly says so.

 

It is not until "...the text Shittan-zo (Siddham Ratnakara) written by An-nen in 880 a.d. [that we begin to see the importance of Siddham script]. The work narrates at the beginning what is known from the original Chinese sources about Sanskrit and the Siddham script. The author examines the transliteration of Sanskrit words in Chinese characters and compares the phonetic value of both. Lastly, he discussed all the letters of the Siddham script. Each of the letters of this script is deemed to be a bija, and identified with a deity."[4,5]

 

"Bija literally means seed, and is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu. Bindu has several related connotations, but is usually considered the point from which creation begins and where it is ultimately unified." [4,5]

 

~This is an incalculably valuable concept:

 

"Just as a seed contains the whole plant, the syllables of Siddham calligraphy are concentrations of enlightened energy." [6]

 

"...the idea that a letter or syllable could be in itself the container of complete meaning was not difficult for literate Chinese to grasp. Their writing system arose from pictographs, and to learn the characters was to learn the words, and indeed the language. Correspondingly, to learn and write the seed syllables for deities in a mandala offered a Chinese initiate entrance into that mandala." [6]

 

~Regarding the spread of Buddhism into Japan:

 

"Among the many spiritual and cultural pilgrims from Japan who undertook the dangerous and terrifying voyage to China in the late eighth century were two young monks—Kukai (Kobo Daishi) and Saicho (Dengyo Daishi). Both studied Buddhism there, both studied Sanskrit and Siddham calligraphy, Kukai directly with an Indian monk, and both came back to Japan to found schools that promoted the use of magic letters." [6]

 

"Although Saicho’s school, Tendai, thoroughly integrated Siddham letters into the liturgical canon, it was Kukai’s Shingon school that raised worship of the letters to remarkable levels. Shingon, after all, means “true word,” so it follows that the spoken and written word stand out.[6]

 

~Siddham script has made a tremendous and lasting impact in Japan. The script persisted there long after it faded from use in India, and it has permeated Japanese culture, giving rise to a Japanese syllabary that is still in use. While some of the more esoteric meanings behind certain symbols are still the province of specific initiative traditions, common Japanese religious and social practices make use of Siddham Script. Of particular note is the practice of issuing ofuda [honerable tablet] or omamori [honorable guard] by a temple as an offering on the behalf of a devotee. These omamoris and ofudas have the power to drive off evil spirits as well was more specific powers based on the character used/ deity invoked.

 

~Coming back to Fudō-myōō:

 

"His [Fudo] ofuda is often found to be nothing but this character [hām] written in the style known as Sittan [Siddham]." [7]

 

"The general masses of people now a days do not understand the full significance of Fudō worship. They go to his temple merely because he is a Buddhist god and as such is naively supposed to grant them anything they may be in need of." [7]

 

"But judging from the general tendancy of his character, seems to be especially efficient in removing all kinds of obstacles which lie in the way of one's undertaking, religious or otherwise. His qualification is more negative than positive." [7]

 

"This is natural, for the very fact that a supreme, perfect being had to incarcerate himself in this fierce, abnomal, disquieting form, proves the extraordinary character of the god; his other title is "Great Destroyer of Hindrances"." [7]

 

"When the worshipper has thoroughly succeeded in identifying himself with the god, we are told, his fire will consume all the worlds and make them one mass of flame shining like seven suns; his mouth will devour like that of the great horse the multiplicity of things; not the least chance will be left for any evil spirit to work mischief." [7]

 

"Thus he is to be invoked when there are difficulties or obstructions to overcome; for instance, when an epidemic is to be checked, or a drought to be broken, or a personal enemy to be destroyed, or an opposing army to be annihilated..." [7]

 

~Damn son, that's some shit there. Not only does this put the Impure King arc into a greater context, it implies a deeper meaning behind Mephisto's use of hām on True Cross Acadamy clothes and supplies. At the very least it looks like Mephisto is making good on his commitment to protect all the students, since his school is such a damn demon magnet (despite his barriers for high level stuff ) the hām gives even the most vanilla human students some degree of spiritual protection. 

 

~However, given it's connection to Fudō, the hām could also be Mephisto's subtle way of harnessing the belief of the humans under his control to give spiritual weight to his side of the conflict in the war he is waging against Lucifer. His skillfully underhanded method of acquiring Myōō Dharani sect as a game piece, folding them into the greater True Cross Order, seems to reinforce this interpretation. 

 

~The effectiveness of this strategy remains to be seens as Lucifer, through his Illuminati, appears to have just as much control over the True Cross Order as Mephisto has. Saburota's ability to compromise Mamushi Hojo and release the other eye of the Impure King, on the surface at least, seems like a huge blow against Mephisto, but he is amused by the circumstances more than anything.

 

~Ultimately I am left with more questions than answers, as it should be, which is one if the reasons why I can't seem to get tired of Ao No Exorcist. The possibilities are exponential; as a story progresses the options tend to narrow, but Kato has built such a convoluted and compelling web of competing interests that it seems like the further we go, the less certain the future is.

 

~I for one both dread and anticipate the end of Ao No Exorcist, but no matter how it goes I think we will all be able to look back and agree it is a hell of a ride!

 

~Thanks for reading!

 

[[Quoted text, unless otherwise indicated, is derived from Other languages in the Far East, Writing systems from the past; translated from Catalan to English, by way of chrome extension, and adjusted to standard English for readabilty]]

[1] visiblemantra.org/acala-fudo

[2] omniglot.com/writing/gupta

[3] wikipedia, Siddham 

[4] wikipedia, Bija

[5] yogapedia, Bindu

[6] tricycle magazine, sacred seeds

[7] The Open Court, Vol 9, September 1915, Fudo-Myowo by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation notes:
> 
>  
> 
> lustig machen = take the piss, ridicule. Make fun of
> 
>  
> 
> kleiner Scheißer= little shit
> 
>  
> 
> odenwa arigatou gozaimasu = thank you for calling
> 
> Japanese Holly - Ilex crenata- as per Shiemi's naming conventions I just came up with something cute.


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